Dale Grimshaw - Semi-Detached

After interviewing Dale Grimshaw few weeks ago (here the first and the second part of the interview) I was so curious to go to the exhibition at Signal Gallery to finally see with my eyes the paintings he was describing, so I couldn’t really miss the private preview.

As inside the gallery the “welcome piece” is ‘Mr Hyde‘, the notorious artwork emblem of the exhibition and one of my favourite Grimshaw’s paintings. I’ve loved it in picture, and live it’s of course much better because I could see all the details that not even an HD photograph can show.

One thing I’ve really appreciated of this artwork, and in general of Dale Grimshaw’s art, is the fact it really shows the real feelings and memories of the artist almost “pushing me” inside his childhood and making me feel what he was feeling. This this why I love Grimshaw’s art: when I look at some of his works I can’t simply focus on the aesthetic side but it’s like I must go behind it and feel something me too.

Going back to the exhibition, there are more than fifteen pieces, each of them really well made and curated in the details: I could really see the artist spent hours and hours behind this show and studying and improving his skills. The paintings are of course in a very Dale Grimshaw style, but since the previous shows I think the artist improved really a lot.

With this show Dale introduces also some new graphic element, like the repetition of patterns in the background (made with stencils), and a wider use of the collage technique that brings his paintings to the another level.

Technically talking, another thing I’ve really appreciated is Dale Grimshaw’s precision in painting hands, that in my opinion -together with the eyes- are the most expressive part of the body and being able to painting them well makes really a huge difference.

I’ve liked many of the artworks and my favourite are the ones you can see in this page, in particular the one really caught my attention for his subject is ‘Babysitter’ (on top).

During the preview Signal Gallery was really full and it has been a nice night, ended with a huge giveaway: 50 signed and numbered screen prints of ‘Mr Hyde’, made the same night in front of us. Of course I’ve got my one, thanks Dale!