Preview of solo exhibition AbsurdiO, by established artist Michael Vale.
12 October – 5 November 2022
Despard Gallery is proud to present solo exhibition by established contemporary artist, Michael Vale. In his third solo exhibition with Despard Gallery, Vale presents a new body of work that continues his exploration of absurdist logic and gothic fiction, coupled with the traditions of romantic painting.
Channelling a similar level of unbridled imagination that led the romantic artists of the 19th Century to prioritise emotion and intuition over logic and reason, Vale welcomes us into an arcane world of supposition, symbolism and the supernatural. Renowned for seamlessly blending the visual grandeur of historical painting with humour and disconcertion in equal measure, Vale’s dramatic landscapes become a theatrical backdrop to stage a population of eerie actors, taking the form of skeletons and faceless mummies.