Dimensions are subverted, spontaneity trumps tradition and colours enter into delightfully unexpected associations. In each painting is a visual example of streaming consciousness using loose dancing applications of paint combined with geometric shapes and bold colours that are regularly used as framing devices throughout Bristow’s work. Certain forms and elements reveal themselves to the artist during the painting process. As the paintings continue to evolve, often its original form becomes obscured, even obliterated as new concepts and emotions arise. Hidden meanings within each painting become endlessly versatile, open to subjective meanings.
Bristow describes his approach as an “act of transfiguration, in which the natural world of self, landscape, animals, cultures are forever merging into anthropomorphic collage combinations.” Lavish, lyrical and brazenly inclusive, Bristow’s work will charm the imagination and sear the psyche with colour.
Image: Ralph BRISTOW, In the Headlights, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 137 x 152cm. © Artist,