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In his exhibition, Lung Capacity, Richard Dunlop might have used traditional materials but his format had its roots in more recent art. His technique has a familiar feel, but the impact of this large body of work is totally original.
Dunlop assembled literally hundreds of small canvasses in strict rows. Some of them were placed in an arbitrary sequence, while other small groupings were composed of very carefully placed sets of small painted works. Upon reflection the viewer had a sense of being surrounded and overwhelmed by the works.
The gallery became the artist's territory which is no mean feat at the best of times. Here the work owns the walls on which it is placed. The eye makes its own connections from one piece to the next and endless variations arise – endless possibilities occur.
There were blank spaces in the gallery, and these spaces provided a silence – similar to the silences in music. Often blank spaces convey a feeling that the artist has not had enough work to "fill up" the space, but in this case they are part of the whole.
One group of work, inspired by Dunlop's viewing an ultrascan during his wife's pregnancy is haunting, ethereal, and strikes a fascinating balance between the body and the spirit, a balance achieved as much by the use of the paint as it is by the subject matter. Dunlop says that he once used to try to hide the processes of painting. He no longer bothers or needs to, and his work reveals both the time involved and the technique. Because he once worked on larger canvasses, his reversal to working on small canvasses but still on