Overview
Intricate and intensely chromatic, the floral paintings of Tom Allen are based on his own photographs, records of his direct experience of plants in situ. Distinct from the post-mortem display of still-life, or the passive features of pastoral fancy, his subjects are vital and knowing, holding court in environments humming with artifice.
Employing small-scale canvases, highly choreographed compositions and meticulous technique, Allen’s work shivers with a visceral synesthesia of concentrated colour, movement and space. In these pictures, being and looking fuse, mood and surface coalesce, animating images that look right back at you, fierce and resolute.
