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Musgrave is a contemporary abstract painter based in Melbourne, Australia.
His contribution to this form is a unique sense of soulfulness, offering
a subtle, ethereal expression to that which is deeply passionate and instinctual.
Stepping into a gallery space of Andrew Musgrave's paintings is
like walking through a gateway to invisible landscapes. The viewer is
invited to turn away from outer concerns and to allow their own imagination
to be stirred. His work appeals to deep things within the self that can't
quite be put into words. It's a bit like the moment of waking up from
a dream, where story, people and places have slipped from our grasp into
the mists. We can never see just what it is, yet we feel something strangely
stirred inside.
When this artist describes the creative process, one is reminded of the
medieval alchemists' journey to know the Mystery of the universe. Musgrave
places much importance on the preparation time before the paint goes onto
the canvas. Just as the alchemists worked to transform raw materials into
gold, he mixes and blends the various colours of paint together with solid
mediums in a meditational mindfulness. Placing himself in the precarious
position of being open to the unconscious, Musgrave describes the transference
of energy, into a visceral response, bringing the energy down deep into
his gut. As much a transformation within his own psyche, he works internally
to allow the chaos, trusting the process will bring something new into
being. It is at that point that a real freedom comes about. Often the
initial form comes out of the gut, where its rawness is transformed. It
is at that moment when the artist feels the deepest connection, an at-one-ment
with the canvas and a sense of blissful knowing of "the other".
The results on canvas express an artist with a penetrating philosophical
mind informed at all times by personal experience. Musgrave is interested
in paradox and working with a constant tension of opposites. Visually
his work implies form emerging, hence image is very subtle. Form emerges
organically to find its own place on the canvas. Similarly, line, texture,
light and shade jostle to find their own balance, as in nature. After
integrating the complexity of roughness and softness, spacious openness
and closure, merger and definition, the work emerges with a simplicity,
truth and beauty.
Musgrave has done all the hard and perilous work for the viewer. We are
transported beyond ordinary place and time to a subterranean river that
connects us all. The work of unification between spirit and soul is delightfully
and aesthetically represented on the canvases touching that which is mystic
for those courageous enough to surrender to it. Thanks to Musgrave's gift,
we can embark and return on an odyssey to intangible realities, within
the safety of our own skins.
Leoni Phelan - September 2005, Freelance Writer. The above text is
based on interviews with the artist.
Contemporary abstract artist Andrew Musgrave:
'My work is about an unrelenting longing to form a meaningful connection
to the unconscious- the ever illusive and mysterious world of the 'Other'.
My paintings capture moments in this process, where spirit and matter
are brought into a soulful relationship, and what was once chaotic energy
is transformed into a natural order. Through the act of painting I enter
a space of "not knowing". In this space concepts, thoughts and ideas give
way to a deeper truth. The painting acts as a container for energy from
the unconscious to undergo a transformation, as an organic form begins
to emerge from a place outside of my conscious mind. Each painting represents
my commitment to the process of 'Lifting the Veil' of my own illusions
and discovering a deeper truth.'
A contemporary abstract painter based in Melbourne, Australia;
Musgrave's work may be described as abstract expressionism but with a
soul. His paintings, oil on canvas, are extremely passionate and highly
textured and evoke the imagination. Through his artwork Andrew has come
to know the 'sacred', not in the conventional religious sense but rather
as a 'mystery' and presence that permeates the core of everyday life.
It challenges the traditional model of God as an object or supernatural
being that exists outside of our selves. Rather it denotes a new understanding
of God that is outside our rational thought but which is revealed to those
who care to take the time to close their eyes, look within and feel deeply
enough.
His paintings attempt to capture something of the mystery of the
spirit and give it form. They are expressions or statements of his encounter
with the sacred, which demand an intense and intimate connection to his
own inner experiences. This work of bringing to birth a new understanding
of God is of vital importance in a time when, for many, our faith and
experience is no longer contained in traditional religious models and
dogma.
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