Introduction
Litten's mastery is in confronting us with the pressures and pleasures of our existence, laying it bare, in the darkness and light. It has always been the case that the often perceived humour in Litten's images leads to the realisation that perhaps you should not be laughing. The apparent quip can often creep under the skin and then move you considerably. This disjointed feeling has often been compounded by the use of materials, and in Litten's past work, the addition of hair, stuffed creatures, staples, screws, the scraps of paper or board that the work was made on, often created formal as well as emotional shift, important vehicles for helping the strange message within to reveal itself and go to work on the viewer.
That is where the true confidence and maturity in this collection, simply and confidently titled 'Paintings', is perhaps most apparent. The fact that it is put across primarily in paint. The surfaces have been worked sometimes heavily, far more that in the past. The texture and build up of paint adds to the history of the characters, giving then a sense of experience or permanence, like wrinkles in the skin suggest a life lived. Yet sometimes the application is thin, almost ghostly. The effect is startling, both ephemeral and grounded. In some ways hinting at both our animal and spiritual yearnings and impulses.
The work is haunting and compelling, tender and engaging, comforting and disturbing. The existentialism remains, as we get a sense of the intimacy of relationships and our sense of isolation and can't help but feel engaged, we relate as we so often feel that way in life ourselves.
When viewing the recent work, it is clear that there is a sense of an artist ready to take his place in a longer line. One is reminded of a diverse range of artists such as Munch, Bonnard, Bacon or Degas and indeed many others, not because the painting appears derivative, far from it, but because it feels like it has become part of a longer tradition. This point is an interesting one, when Andrew Litten has been described as an 'Outsider'. Perhaps this is because he has been his own man, a point I feel that is reflected now more that ever.
Joseph Clarke, Gallery Director. 2008
List Of Works Sitters
170 x 90 cm
oil on board
2007 (page3)
Unbrace
125 x 90 cm
oil on board
2007 (page5)
Antagonist
151 x 80 cm
oil on board
2008 (page7)
Two Way
130 x 70 cm
oil on board
2007 (page9)
Hoodies
55 x 40 cm
oil on board 2005 (page10)