Nasser Azam

Hung across three rooms, this new series of bold, bright paintings marks the next chapter in Nasser Azam's residency at County Hall Gallery which began in October 2007.

New and recent paintings by Azam show the artist's continuing exploration of highly-charged formal motifs, made vivid by his distinctive use of colour.

Building on previous series of paintings - from the Turmoil series of 2007 which used dark blue and yellow hues, to the Anatomica series that used striking combinations of cadmium red and bright yellow - the paintings in the current selection show a range of virtuosi developments of colour combinations.

Striking obsessions and motifs that have continued throughout Azam's oeuvre are given a new and fresh expression in many of the works on display. In particular his distinctive use of a half-calligraphic, half-figurative mark, for example in paintings such as Intricate Requiem I, which shows a dynamic configuration of forms that may be seen as coloured flames.

Azam's constant renewal of his own vocabulary can be seen in a few surprising works, such as Transfigural Ambience VIII (For Cy), in which his engagement with a tradition of expressive painting in Europe, always beneath the surface of his otherwise classical engagement with form, surfaces to create a fleeting, expressive image that is close to the abstract mark-making of Cy Twombly.

The dynamic organic forms in Colour Over Form, overlaid, echoed and interspersed with fluid lines, signify a mature progression in Azam's established compositional style.

A direct link can be seen between these new paintings and past works such as Homage to Francis Bacon I.

Created by Azam in weightless, space-like conditions during a flight over Moscow in July 2008, this triptych sold at auction in New York last November for $332,500.

The experience challenged Nasser to further develop the abstraction of his figurative painting, culminating in the work on display in this exhibition.