Gavin Rain
Audrey New Style, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
120 x 120 cm
47.2 x 47.2 inch
47.2 x 47.2 inch
Signed and dated lower right,
inscribed on reverse GPR 18041
inscribed on reverse GPR 18041
SmithDavidson Gallery presents Gavin Rain: Beyond the Dots, a online exhibition of works by South African artist Gavin Rain, whose distinctive approach to portraiture explores the relationship between colour, distance and perception.
Seen up close, Rain’s paintings reveal intricate arrangements of concentric circles, each containing multiple colours. As the viewer steps back, these individual elements begin to merge, bringing a face into focus. What first appears as an abstract field of colour gradually becomes a recognisable portrait, inviting the eye to move between the individual marks and the image they form together.
Drawing on pointillism, Rain combines meticulous planning with an intuitive understanding of how we see. The size, placement and colour of each dot contribute to the final image, making the spaces between them as essential as the painted surface itself.
Beyond the Dots invites you to discover the interplay between detail and recognition in Rain’s work. Moving between close views and the complete composition reveals how a shift in perspective can transform what we see.
