Drift an Exhibition by Damien Kurth

Working mostly in oils, Kurth creates incredibly detailed 'trompe l'oeil' works that feel like tricks of the eye. He paints everyday objects – a cut crystal glass, an old jar, a patterned tin – things we usually overlook as mundane.

By placing these objects centre stage, with no clues about where they are or why they're there, their familiarity starts to fade. and they gain an element of mystery and intrigue. Kurth’s commonplace objects possess the ‘seemliness of the unfamiliar’ or ‘Jamais vu’ a term used to describe the experience of being unfamiliar with something that is very familiar.

The artist uses a traditional ground gesso, building the painting’s surface slowly; each stroke of oil working with the other to create a harmonic whole. Delicately painted sheets of paper and masking tape subtly divide the picture plane, creating a sense of depth, while fluorescent pink post-it notes punctuate…