25 june 2024, Yves Joris
Midnight confession, a personal vision on the work of Tom McGlynn
In a world in which the visual landscape is often dominated by complexity and excess, Tom McGlynn’s geometric minimalism offers an oasis of calm and simplicity. His art, on display in the current exhibition Interval at Settantotto in Ghent, invites us to pause for a moment and appreciate the subtlety of form and colour. McGlynn’s work speaks the language of silence, a poetry that calls for deeper reflection and a renewed look at the world around us.
Tom McGlynn, an artist rooted in the serene New Jersey of 1958, has developed over the years into a master of minimalist expression.His Master's degree from New York's Hunter College has shaped him into an artist who has mastered the craft of simplicity to perfection. His oeuvre has found its way to both prestigious and intimate galleries, inviting spectators to introspection and contemplation.
Tom McGlynn, Rose Mary, 2024, Settantotto Art Gallery
Feel the silence
The exhibition Interval at Settantotto highlights the delicate harmony McGlynn creates through geometric shapes and subtle colour compositions. His work radiates a calm that invites stillness and reflection. With his minimalist approach, he emphasises the space between shapes, the silence between colours and the pauses between thoughts.
His art invites us not only to see but also to feel, to experience the silence woven into every line and plane. McGlynn's work is like gentle whispers that resonate with deep inner peace, comparable to the feeling of a morning mist slowly lifting to reveal a clear landscape.
In the footsteps of Josef Albers
In McGlynn's work, we see echoes of the influential German artist Josef Albers, whose Homage to the Square was a profound study of colour and form. Albers' work explores how colours influence each other within geometric frames, inviting a scientific look at the perception of colour.
While Albers confronts us with the hard facts of colour theory, McGlynn explores the softness and mystery of form and space. His work seems to breathe, move and invite an introspective journey. McGlynn’s minimalism is not so much a study of visual effects, but rather a meditative exploration of the space and emptiness that are just as important as the forms they enclose. A meditative exploration accompanied by poetic titles.
Tom McGlynn, Flat Pack 6, 2024, Settantotto Art Gallery
Midnight Confession
Tom McGlynn's Midnight Confession evokes the mysterious atmosphere of an intimate moment of self-reflection and revelation, taking place in the quiet, lonely hours of the night. The deep, unfathomable blue background reflects the darkness of midnight, a time when the world is still and the human mind can speak to itself in silence.
The rectangular shapes floating in the background are like the thoughts and emotions that surface during these vulnerable hours. Each colour and position of the rectangles reflects a particular emotion or memory that rises to the surface during these introspective moments. The bright red block, for example, might symbolise an intense, perhaps even painful memory, while the soft green expresses hope or reconciliation. The irregular placement of the rectangles seems to reflect the chaotic nature of human thoughts and feelings, especially in moments of deep introspection and self-examination. This emphasises the notion that a ‘confession’ is not always neat or orderly, but often a jumble of emotions and thoughts that rise to the surface when we take the time to listen.
The work invites the viewer to embrace a personal ‘midnight confession’ – those moments when we allow ourselves to be honest about our deepest feelings and thoughts. The forms and colours serve as metaphors for these personal revelations, which often only dare come forward in the quiet hours of the night.
Tom McGlynn, Midnight Confession, 2024, Settantotto Art Gallery
Tom McGlynn's Interval is a celebration of minimalism and the poetry of simplicity. His work invites us to pause, look and listen to the silent dialogues between forms and colours. His art offers a journey to the heart of contemplation in which the beauty of emptiness and depth of simplicity gives us a new perspective on the world, a journey that begins at Settantotto in Ghent.
