Liam Gerrard - Diurnus : Online Catalogue

Sanderson are pleased to present the exhibition Diurnus, featuring a new body of works by Liam Gerrard.

Based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Gerrard is celebrated for his ability to wield a pencil, piece of pastel, or stick of charcoal to capture and distil the breathing, humming, three-dimensional natural world onto a sheet of flat paper. Elements that are deeply familiar, but rarely centre stage, come into focus – the fuzzy patina of a moth’s wing, the crisping petal bonnet of a flower, the whorl of an ear.

In this new exhibition, Gerrard presents a take on sottobosco painting (after the Italian for “undergrowth”), or in German, Waldstilleben ("forest still life"). This 17th-century subgenre of still life painting focuses on the dark and often overlooked elements of the forest floor. The paintings characteristically feature insects, forest animals and decaying matter, often presented in close-up, highly detailed form.

In Gerrard’s new works he presents a playful adaptation of this subject - moths flutter amongst trees and petals whilst cats doze in the grass and ducks graze and look out at the viewer. The corner of a fence indicates the floor of a suburban garden, rather than a forest, reminiscent of Gerrard’s childhood garden in Devonport, Tāmaki Makaurau.

Amongst these still life works Gerrard presents new hydrangea – the Hydrangea paniculata limelight – with its stunning conical flower heads in varying deciduous states.

As with all of Gerrard’s works, these pieces carry symbolic meaning – exploring themes of mortality, decay, and the transient nature of life, as well as celebrating the beauty of the natural world that surrounds us.