being satisfied

Location

Country: Singapore
City: Singapore
Place: British High Commission

being satisfied, a painting by Robin Megannity, presents a hyperrealist clear and black glass ornament on a white background. It is surrounded by a border covered with agitated black lines and specks of red. The object combines elements and forms derived from vases in historical paintings, glass ornaments, pipes and other paraphernalia often found in small high street shops. 

Megannity uses 3D modelling software to develop digital models that act as reference images. By translating virtual objects and scenarios into painting, he disrupts the polished aesthetic of digital product design. Speaking about this this painting, Megannity comments:

 

'One significant pathway that interests me in the adoption of [digital] technology is the relationship between senses, particularly sight and touch. The object remains an image on a screen but it is manipulated and described in a quasi-tactile space - the semblance of material is seductive and activates a phantom haptic response. This is a concept that a painting practice is perfectly poised to explore, the suspended action of a painted surface draws a physical as much as a visual reverberation. The visual experience is heightened by the negation of touch.'

Creating hybrid objects in his paintings enables him to tangibly explore a fast-changing society with its inherent uncertainties and anxieties. The depicted objects can be perceived as products, museum artefacts, sculptures or as props in ambiguous scenarios. We are invited to make up our own narrative through identifying references and visual cues.

Born in Burnley, Robin Megannity is based in Manchester. He completed a BA in Fine Art at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (2007); and an MA in Painting from Manchester School of Art (2021). Megannity's work attempts to exploit the dramatic potential of techniques appropriated from an academic heritage, whilst embracing the formality and cultural weight inherent in a painting practice. His solo exhibitions include 'ferme la fenêtre', Kristian Day Fine Art and Projects, London (2020); 'Goes Without Saying', Bunker Gallery, Manchester (2019), and 'Compression', Bureau Gallery, Manchester (2014). His work has also featured in numerous group exhibitions including shows in Seattle, London, Montreal, Manchester and Salford. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Bankley Open Call Prize.

Places

Subjects

vase (as Subject), sculpture (as Subject), glass, light, technology, digital art, 3D modelling

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil paint, pastel, painting (as object name), mixed media painting, soft pastel, adhesive, rabbit skin glue, oil based primer, resin/wax medium, matte/satin varnish

Artist

Robin Megannity (1985 - )

Title

being satisfied

Date

2019

Medium

Artists soft pastel, rabbit skin glue size, oil-based primer, oil paint with resin/wax medium, satin/matte varnish on canvas

Dimensions

height: 110.5 cm; width: 75.4 cm; depth: 3.7 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from the artist, with funds raised from print sales from the Robson Orr TenTen Award, a GAC/Outset Annual Commission, 2019

Provenance

The artist; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 12 December 2019

GAC number

18837