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                                                   John Berger

Michael Quanne`s paintings are about certain experiences, (street experiences) which have not entered painting before. And for this reason I`m tempted to compare his work with that of the great Mexican, painter Freda Kahlo. Both artists may, at first glance, be mistaken for primitive painters (because they want to show everything and hide the minimum) and both paint visions that could only come to outsiders) .

Kahlo the visions of a wounded woman among Mexican Indians; Quanne those of an East-End kid in a milieu of delinquents and Dickensian state institutions. In the works of both of them there is a lot of pain but also an overwhelming desire to offer, to take by the hand and show.

      

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                                             Simon Corbin

  Quanne`s paintings present a surreal view of London landmarks - usually his native East-End - populated by curiously isolated figures. They are figures who manage to convey a sense of isolation even when presented in groups. Often these figures will be hooded; emphasising the recurrent theme of isolation still further. There is an underlying sense of menace in the works; disturbing events are either happening or are about to happen. Yet the sheer visual appeal here enables a transcendence of these negative qualities; while some of the imagery is unsettling you cannot help but be impressed; the composition is exact, the perspective rigidly accurate(yet subtly distorted so as to preserve the overall surreal quality within the works.)

   

                                                            Linda Talbot.

 

 

 In streets that are banal but painted with precision, a dark division surfaces; some people walk free, others wear hoods that distinguish and confine. They proliferate in the perturbing reflections of Michael Quanne. A gentile swing painting after Fragonard is a sinister parody on the frothy original: the hooded man swinging above what might be a school house as though he has emerged devoid of aptitude.

 Huge horses are another recurrence in his socially incisive work. He sees them as a symbol of power. In one painting a massive horse accompanied by two people incongruously occupies an elegant room; the beasts substance like a benevolent stability. In another a small boy appears with a large black horse among diversely delineated buildings. There is a persistence of oppression apparent. Clear-cut buildings are recognisable yet have the dream like quality of a film set. However, the emotional impact and technical conviction remain as he develops an increasingly unnerving disclosure of dark issues.  

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