Vagueness of Heart is an exhibition of recent work by Glasgow based artists Tess Glen and Andrea Christodoulides. The drawings and paintings presented here emerged from the atmosphere of the pandemic and the circumspection which has characterised the past year and a half. The work explores the many contradictory realities each of us has been living over this time and the effort to find inward resolution and outward connection.

 

With patterned floors and half shut doors leading to distant horizons, the work invites the viewer into strange atmospheres and layered narratives. Andrea’s practice of creating imaginary worlds and characters as a social commentary on present living conditions stemmed from growing up in Cyprus, a divided country and from witnessing people of different ethnic origins, religions, and culture.

 

Tess’s paintings offer glimpses into domestic spaces which reveal intimate stories, and mental states, suspended in time and place. At the heart of her practice is the changing role of interiors and art as smart phones and technology continue to invade these spaces, once our sanctuaries and escapes. She often writes surreal and humorous texts to accompany her work. Here she presents a limited-edition artists book ‘Worship in the Neighbours House’.

 

The artists follow the cracks of the real, uniting the inside and the outside and giving texture to anxieties and passions.

 

The works are informed by the artists’ experimentation with colour, shape, line and a working-through of the limits of the canvas as well as the history of painting. Both artists are fascinated by pattern and use it to explore the interrelation of characters and subjects.