Sarah Dwyer (B. 1974)

Gliding between abstraction and representation, Sarah Dwyer’s compositions are dynamic whirlwinds of vibrant colour and ethereal form. With each work, exposing her spontaneous process by fusing earlier stages of painting with cacophonous modifications, Dwyer channels an automatic, unconscious mode of expression. In Absolution (2012), a celestial, dreamlike atmosphere is manifested by a swirling ensemble of anthropomorphic forms, conjured by fluid brushstrokes rendered in luminous, stained-glass colour, reminiscent of the pathos in Francis Bacon’s agitated forms. Like the creatures from folklore and mythology that Dwyer delights in, these forms have a mysterious ambiguity; Ben Street notes that in Absolution ‘tumbling ectoplasmic forms become fragments of a body, or parts of an animal or plant, transforming themselves just before the viewer is granted purchase. You recognise it until you suddenly don’t.’