The Liminal Series
liminal: occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.
A sense of order has always been an important part of my work. “The Liminal Series” has grown out of this concern and my interest in the nature of lines as used in mapping, astronomy, and in this body of work: the threshold between interwoven lines of vines and branches. As an avocational gardener, I am aware of the unrelenting force of nature to reclaim land cleared for cultivation. I am constantly clearing and removing unwanted and dead clumps of vegetation from my property and noticing vines overtaking fences, signposts and other manmade barriers erected along the roadside. As an artist and draughtsman, the linear structure of these vines, denuded of leaves, provide me with an abstract grammar of pattern which I have used to define and develop the surface of the drawing in this series. I am as interested in the thickness of a stem as it grows and weaves through space as I am the proportional relationship between the branches and the space between them. By using lines of varying thickness, thinness, softness and hardness, along with fleeting singular marks and nest-like concentrations I want to cause the surface to vibrate with a sense of spatial depth. I hope that one feels that there is a clear underlying order but one which is continually being disturbed and interrupted. I am seeking a reciprocation between line and surface; between stasis and movement: between vertical ascension and horizontal extension while building a grey haze of graphite or silver to occupy the liminal state between black and white.
James Grubola
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including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the artist, except for the inclusion of a brief quotation in review.
including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the artist, except for the inclusion of a brief quotation in review.

The Liminal Series:
Kimball’s Anniversary
silver and goldpoint
22 x 30

The Liminal Series:
Kimball’s Anniversary
Detail

The Liminal Series: Cycloid Arches
silver and goldpoint
22 x 30

The Liminal Series: Kahn's Triumph
silver and goldpoint
22 x 30

The Liminal Series: Leighton's Sash
silver and goldpoint
22 x 30

The Liminal Series: Reticulum
graphite on paper
50 x 36

The Liminal Series: Interosseous
graphite on paper
40 x 28

The Liminal Series: Interosseous
Detail