Grant Nimmo
At the altar of Earth
3 July - 10 August 2024
Opening 2-4pm Saturday 6 July

At the altar of Earth is Grant Nimmo’s fourth solo exhibition with Daine Singer. This exhibition presents a new body of work, in which Nimmo further explores the legacy of European landscape painting through an Antipodean lens. Each painting depicts a forest scene from landscapes Nimmo has encountered in Aotearoa's South Island, as well as parts of Victoria. Nimmo has described the process of walking into nature as “the point when the painting begins”. He walks deep into national forests to find these scenes, recalling through painting the experience of apprehending their natural beauty, as well as the uncanny feeling that we risk disturbing something when we do so.

As trees, paths and mountains recede into unknown depths, Nimmo’s new paintings delve into the ambiguous relationship between nature and its observer. The work evokes the sublime tradition of landscape painting, mingling feelings of awe and dread. Nimmo’s forest scenes appear devoid of human presence, yet alive with unseen energies and historical hauntings.

Nimmo’s work to date has focused on the forests of Australia, Aotearoa and Scotland, informed by Celtic and Australian folklore and myth. Recent works have shifted towards a more purely representational landscape, as Nimmo has honed his focus on studying the landscape techniques of his forebears and patiently perfecting his technique. Myth and folklore remain through work titles (Warlock, The dying Celt, Temple, The mariner’s song…) — titles that reinforce the sense of mysticism and reverence in his paintings.

Painted moments capture the shadowy fading light as night descends, illustrating a storybook beauty imbued with a darker presence. Our view of forests shifts from close-range to the vertiginous. Works are situated in the dark and mossy undergrowth of the forest floor, illuminated by slithers of ethereal light. Elsewhere, our view is pulled back to experience the awe of the South Island’s snow-capped mountainscapes.

Nimmo has previously incorporated painted framing devices of borders and Celtic braids into his work. Here, in a nod to the arched frame of a Bonnard painting (Vue du Cannet, 1927), he has framed his view in three works with a simple and muted curved border, reminiscent of altar painting or dageurrotypes and frames. It is an elegant formal device, as well as a reminder that our view is often shaped by a Eurocentric legacy of art and culture.

Grant Nimmo is a Melbourne/Naarm-based artist. He has held solo exhibitions at Daine Singer (2022, 2021, 2016); Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland (2021, 2019); Fort Delta, Melbourne (2018); Westspace, Melbourne (2014); Chapter House Lane, Melbourne (2014); Sawtooth, Launceston (2013); Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne (2013, 2011, 2010); Stockroom Kyneton, Victoria (2012); TCB Art Inc (2011); Rearview Gallery, Melbourne (2010); and Evan Hughes Gallery, Sydney (2009).

He has participated in group exhibitions at galleries including the National Gallery of Victoria, Shepparton Art Museum, Ivan Anthony Gallery, Spring 1883, Bus Projects, Westspace, TCB Art Inc, Art Athena Athens Art Fair, Seventh, Anna Pappas, Death Be Kind, Korean International Art Fair, Melbourne Art Fair, Salamanca Art Centre and Gertrude Contemporary.

Nimmo has a Bachelor of Fine Art from Monash University. His work is held in collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Artbank and Gippsland Art Gallery.