42 x 30 cm | 16 x 11 in
Subject: People
Tags: Shadow, Chair, Feminine, Pensive, Hands, Profile, Negative_Space
Original painting in oil on primed paper.
A question hangs in the air, provoked by ‘An Empty Stage’, a figure paused ‘Under Lamplight’, or a loaded gaze. The meticulous application of paint, in colourful high contrast, offsets the mystery of these scenes. Niki Duffy is manifestly inspired by cinema’s love of reflective surfaces. Just see the ardour with which ‘Silk’ is depicted - or how in ‘Open?’ and ‘Midnight Taxi’ the artist is creating his own pictorial language with which to express the effects of electric light. Like Edward Hopper, Duffy is interested in scenes that exemplify a distinctly modern experience. In these paintings, perspective is glimpsed: through a car window, across a train track, or in direct intimacy with the urban dwellers who abound in their solitude.