Greg Eason introduced me to Neil Raitt's work recently when he invited him to be part of the Buddy System Invitational show i'm curating.
I just came across this article on It's Nice That featuring some of his work. Some folks on Artchival will probably appreciate his work...
Think of those dreams you have after watching too much Twin Peaks where you find yourself walking across delirious landscape shots that just keep on repeating and you will come somewhere close to the Royal College of Art graduate Neil Raitt’s painting. It is a pretty extraordinary experience, from canvases cratered by mountains to multiplying forests barely broken by their trunks; perspective slips your grip, abandoning you somewhere between the cinematic and an untrustworthy reality.
Is there something dark here as spectacle is reduced to pattern but its repetition disorientates rather than bores? Where mountains are made unrecognisable, become a texture, are hypnotic, reminding you that they are never a place you would want to be lost in reality. Moving closer though, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by how maddeningly beautiful they are, by Neil’s incessant attention to detail, with every jut in the mountain face hand painted. Indulge in them, be absorbed into the painting and then maybe leave it a while before bed.