The influence of architecture on Jon Tarry’s work is evident in Liminal Spaces through its curved, three-dimensional surface and graphic markings. The work is part-painting and part-sculpture. The artist’s reference to the term ‘liminal’ is key to interpreting the work, as defined in the Oxford dictionary as ‘relating to a transitional or initial stage …, (of) being at a boundary or threshold’.

The artwork’s curved surface gently folds out into the space of the viewer, while the horizon-line and two-point perspective gridlines draw the viewer’s gaze back into the illusional surface of the artwork. These contradictory elements, of real and implied space, leave the viewer at the threshold of the landscape pictured by the artist.

Through Tarry’s exploration of these different painterly and sculptural traditions, he draws attention to the many and complex ways of perceiving and interacting with the landscape and the built environment.

Winner of the 1999 Invitation Art Prize