Iain Faulkner: Lighting the Way

Friedrichs Pontone is delighted to announce an exhibition of new paintings by the Scottish artist, Iain Faulkner. This sequence of artfully structured compositions places solitary figures in a variety of contemporary urban landscapes. Faulkner's models are a middle-aged male, a woman and a young girl. Viewed from behind, or in quarter-profile, they elude exact identification, standing as archetypes in a skilfully realised world.

Faulkner is a painter of much experience and a master of technique. He brings a keen eye and a deft hand to the analysis and rendering of light, texture and form. Fluent in his descriptions of the figure, architecture and landscape, he establishes a rich illusion of physical presence. Faulkner's handling of light, its temperature and delicate gradations, is especially effective in summoning up a subtle nuance of mood and atmosphere.

The painter's subjects inhabit an unpopulated space. There appears to be no incident or person to distract them. They gaze and contemplate - still, observant and detached- in absorbed reverie or making cool assessment of their surroundings. Their context, despite its urgent realism, is a dream space, a stage for thoughtful imaginings. The protagonists are often shown carrying a lantern, something of an anachronism in such contexts. The lamp emits a warm, orange glow, casting a penumbra of soft light. This pictorial conceit shows them each generating their own particular illumination of the world around them.

While these pictures may superficially suggest alienation, they point to a more compelling sense of individual autonomy. Faulkner's figures pass through spaces, aware, keen-eyed and vigilant, secure in themselves. In addition, as a set, the nature of the subjects implies a personal relationship that extends across the works. This group is a family where each member is seen establishing an independent relationship with the wider world.