Tom Allen: The Hour

2 Jun-1 Jul 2023

PV 2 Jun 2023, 6-9pm

Tom Allen, Nepanthe, 2023, Oil on canvas. Credit: © the artist; courtesy the artist and The Approach, London

Overview

Intricate and intensely chromatic, the floral paintings of Tom Allen are based on his own photographs, records of his direct experience of plants in situ. Distinct from the post-mortem display of still-life, or the passive features of pastoral fancy, his subjects are vital and knowing, holding court in environments humming with artifice.

Employing small-scale canvases, highly choreographed compositions and meticulous technique, Allen’s work shivers with a visceral synesthesia of concentrated colour, movement and space. In these pictures, being and looking fuse, mood and surface coalesce, animating images that look right back at you, fierce and resolute.

Artists