PIERMARQ* is pleased to present Formation, by New York-based artist Xavier Baxter. This is Baxter’s first exhibition at PIERMARQ* in Sydney.
Formation pays homage to the ideas and techniques that shaped Baxter's practice as an artist. Born in England to a family of artists, he was introduced to Stone Age cave painting, cathedrals, altarpieces, old masters and contemporary art from an early age. Drawing from varied art historical reference points, Baxter explores the dynamics between characters and their expressive postures.
The figures become the foundation for Baxter’s obsessive exploration into materiality. Each painting depicts a single abstracted figure; blank features, intentionally devoid of race and gender are hidden and formed with layers of paint, carved and moulded onto the surface of the canvas. No tool is off-limits: Baxter forms his beings with pallet knives, hands, brushes and brooms to apply amalgams of oil paint, spray paint and acrylic mediums.
Over time, the initial forms are layered and reworked until they transform into pure gestures, dissolving into bold, unapologetic colors. Though Baxter’s work appears to be abstraction at first glance, a deeper look reveals a complex interplay between human forms and paint, with both elements merging and evolving together; a geometric wedge shaped head with a watchful eye, four lines extending from the wrist to express a bony hand, looming colossal figures with contrapposto tilts, culminating in a dynamic representation of strength and energy.
Xavier Baxter (b. 1991, London UK) received a BA in sculpture from the City and Guilds University in London. His work has been exhibited in the UK, Europe and Asia.
