“Michael Craik: Razed to the Ground,” Amber Roome Contemporary Art, Edinburgh, Scotland. Through Aug. 30. Visit his website.
Susan Mansfield in The Scotsman: “Paint is built up in layers to create an effect which is almost three dimensional, then colours are added, a restrained palette of greys, pinks and blues. Yet, in these flat planes of colour, he still manages to evoke perspective and create a play of light which recalls the buildings from which the patterns have been drawn….Craik celebrates patterning, focusing on the geometry of squares or hexagons. His is a contemporary minimalism for an urban audience. Its cool precision and detachment might not be to everyone’s taste, but there is no questioning his skill.” Read more.
According to The List: “There can be an arresting intimacy in small paintings. The artist�s relationship becomes that much closer and more private, the intentions more modest. Certainly this seems to be part of the appeal of Michael Craik�s most recent works, all of which are painted on slim aluminium projected slightly out from the wall. This gives them an obvious physicality, yet it must also provide an ideal smooth support for Craik�s slick, flattened colours to be applied. Though more abstract than representational, much like his previous paintings, the influence of geometrical shapes found in modern architecture is pervasive.” Read more.
