An ongoing exploration of colour and geometric form featuring recent oil paintings focusing on discrete, self-contained colour constructions.
Paul McMichael’s exhibition charts a clear shift in his painting over more than a decade, from Social Realism to pure abstraction.
The early works show scenes of working life gradually giving way to a fascination with colour as a subject. Influences from Van Gogh, Bonnard, Matisse, and Gauguin guide this transition. McMichael focuses on the expressive power of pigment and surface, turning everyday moments into studies of tone and rhythm.
From 2022 onwards, his Pure Painting series moves toward geometric abstraction. Guided by Maurice Denis’s idea that a painting is a flat surface covered with colours arranged in order, McMichael explores clarity, harmony, and proportion. Grids and distinct fields of colour replace representation, reflecting an engagement with Mondrian, De Stijl and Suprematism.
In his latest works, McMichael reintroduces motifs while keeping his commitment to colour and structure. Each painting shows an ongoing search for balance between form and feeling.
Colour and Geometry invites you to see how McMichael’s practice evolves, from the realism of working figures to independent compositions built on colour, order and light.
Venue: The Chapel at St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Road — E2 9PL
Access: We are working to make our Grade II listed building more accessible, but it will take some time. Please note that entry to the Chapel is not step-free. If you require access support (including our portable ramps) and/or access to an accessible toilet, please contact us on 020 8980 2092 or email emily@stmargaretshouse.org.uk so we can arrange this for you.
Dates and times: Friday 28th, 2-5pm - Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November, 11am-5pm