Almost There: Joe Simpson

About

This Autumn photo-realist painter Joe Simpson returns to Manchester for a long awaited exhibition of his collection ‘Almost There'. After two runs in London, the work will be available to purchase for the first time. Comme Ca Art have organised the exhibition to take place at the Lowry Hotel — marrying together the Hotel as a place transit with the road movie tale behind the collection to create a perfect setting to view the exhibition. The title of the project, 'Almost There' references one characters journey as he leaves the city to find redemption on the open road. The images refer to the cinematography of the ‘road-movie' genre, to evoke the feel and mood of a film still. The widescreen format, filmic composition and theatrical use of light enhance the cinematic quality of the images. The artist's overall practice deals with the narrative potential of the still image. He works primarily in oil paint to create realistic images that utilise the conventions of cinematography to present ‘staged', fictitious scenes where time has been stopped and extended. These frozen moments are deliberately ambiguous, inviting the viewer to inject their own emotions, motivations and narrative context into the scene, thereby avoiding limiting interpretation.