NinaJohnson

The two-toned graphite and off-white oil paintings hanging in Gallery Diet are deceptively simple. The text-based works from Toadhouse, also known as Allan Graham, can at first appear like poster-art. “You are here” reads one, in what looks like a type-font that might be used by a teenager.

But move in closer and amazing things start to happen. There is no font here, or even the use of tape to create these letters — they are all drawn free-form. The graphite lettering juxtaposed against an almost dirty white background — created from layers and layers of a very thin paint — start to look more like symbols or hieroglyphics. Standing in front of a painting that relates “you are here” leaves a strange after-taste when you turn around and are no longer “here.”

See full post HERE

Download pdf HERE