PORTRAITS
The palettes , part of a larger series , were indeed used by Ryan Gander to paint . He ostensibly painted a series of portraits of people he had crossed paths with , merely based on his memory , each portrait having its own palette , choice and mixing of colors . However , he destroyed the paintings after their completion , designating the palettes to be the artworks instead . By elevating the palettes over the painted portraits themselves , Gander shifts the point at which a work becomes art . A palette normally stands for the process and not for the outcome . In this case , it is the outcome , already containing the essence of what constitutes an artwork .
On nineteen glass disks , several daubs of acrylic paint are distributed . The paints vary among the three elements , and where tones appear to have been mixed with a paint brush . Its shape and the paint daubs give the disk the overall appearance of a classic painter ’ s palette . However , the fact that it is made from glass and the absence of thumb holes suggests otherwise .
The works title Group Portrait suggests real-life characters have been portrayed and in fact a photograph of the meeting described in the title , exist . The observer is left to imagine what the painting may have looked like . Thus , the possible images reside in our imagination — a theme Gander has often addressed .
Group Portrait - Ten members from a British Council delegation of international curators and museum directors , one British Council representative , six collegues and two gallerists photographed at the artist ’ s studio , Haggerston , London , April 22nd 2016 , 2017 Acrylic on mirror 426 x 80 x 1 cm approx . ( RG 152 )
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