London - Tate Britain presents new paintings by Glasgow-based artist Tony Swain as part of the Art Now programme. These works, which will be on show for the first time, include paintings on a larger scale than anything Swain has previously created. Swain uses sheets of newsprint as both the physical base and the conceptual starting point for his paintings. A striking detail or pattern from a happened-upon photograph then becomes the catalyst for a new work. Over these sheets of paper he creates evocative and dreamlike landscapes, eerily familiar towns and buildings, and abstract, composite scenes. The Swain exhibition is on view through 26 July, 2009.

Swain’s paintings are built up over the collaged newspaper, gradually obliterating most of the text and photography. The original narrative is left behind, becoming obscured by layers of successive imagery and distorted perspectives. The fragments that are allowed to remain are transformed by their inclusion in these imaginary landscapes. Swain works in this way on numerous paintings at once, moving from one to the other over days and months as he builds up the compositions. The delicate works are then displayed un-framed, giving them an immediate intimacy and presence.

There is something incredibly refreshing and vitalic in the new work by Swain. Deriving their material source from newsprint and magazines, Swain’s paintings have a strange air of familiarity. Seemingly random patterns are produced from a starting point as oblique as a shadow or colour on the newsprint. The final result being at times a surreal, fantastical landscape or a depiction of an intimate, but unrecognizable object.

When you study the works, it seems as though Swain is involving you in his private surreal world, with influences from music and from the built environment. The original print and Swain’s finely painted transcription become indistinguishable. It is through this process that Swain manages to invert the print material with unusual and unassociated surreal attributes. The resulting collage has a part fantasy painting and part realist ‘photoprint’ quality.

Tony Swain was born in Lisburn in 1967. He now lives and works in Glasgow, having studied at Glasgow School of Art, 1986-90, and Liverpool School of Art, 1985-86. He was among the artists chosen to represent Scotland at the 2007 Venice Biennale, and his work has previously been exhibited at the Modern Institute, Glasgow; Herald Street Gallery, London; and most recently at Inverleith House, Edinburgh.

The Art Now programme at Tate Britain reflects the latest happenings in contemporary British art. It consists of a regular series of exhibitions, designed to demonstrate the quality and variety of new art in the UK.

Coming soon . . This summer, Art Now will present a group show of new work by contemporary British artists.

Visit The Tate Britain at :  www.tate.org.uk