Come to the opening night of Joshua Squashua's Misillusions: Alternative Perspectives of Oxford!
Iguanadon by Joshua Squashua. All rights reserved by the artist.
Jam Factory, 27 Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HU, Fri 21 February - Mon 20 April 2020
Joshua Squashua is often to be found about town - whether it's the artist himself sketching in the streets, or his pictures popping up to brighten the plywood hoardings or darkened windows of empty shops. In this, his first solo show, his paintings come to rest indoors in one gallery for two months, as the Jam Factory host his Misillusions.
Squashua paints a kindly view of the city, bathed in a rosy glow, with bright skies overhead. Intrigued by the Fibonacci spiral and the golden ratio that occurs so often in the natural world, the artist plays with this idea among the dreaming spires, manipulating the perspective of his scenes and causing the world to warp and twist. It should be alarming, but somehow it seems lazy and friendly. Are the spires really in a dream, or are we all infused with the cliche of a post-exam student's inebriation?
Underneath the wavy haziness is a skilled and accurate expertise in draughtsmanship. Squashua is accurate in the detail of the streets and buildings, and fantastic at capturing character and movement in the people who populate his scenes. This is an Oxford you'll recognise, despite (or perhaps because of) its weird and wonderfulness.
If you have questions for the artist, you can meet him on Sunday 23rd February, at a special Artist Evening.
As a huge fan of Joshua's work I am so excited for this!! I met him at Christmas when he did a wicked portrait of me and my little man and have been stalking him ever since ???? xx so chuffed for his exhibition and hope for many more in the future xx
