The exhibition showcases works selected from 2017 to 2024. It’s been a long journey with these paintings, from big to small, trying to evoke notions of space, both close and far. The link between space, colour, and form is essential in my work. My ongoing interest in fragmentation is at the centre of this exhibition, whether in the paintings or the small works made from thin wood fragments that are painted before they unite to form a statement in wood and paint.

As in all my works, the shapes seem to touch but don’t cross over; in a way, they are free beside each other. The longer you look, they seem to enter a state of transit. To go beyond the accidental for that which is permanent and to ask yourself where you stand in painting, and to have the curiosity to develop further, is still exciting for me.

– James O’Connor. September 2024