Ted May’s exhibition, WILD THINGS, has a primal thesis. A silhouette of an angry red bull dominates one large canvas. A mating dance by a virile beast another, while a third work depicts a long-beaked bird astride its defenceless mate. These Darwinian works oscillate in vibrant red, black and yellow with overt masculinity and sexual prowess.

Upon closer inspection of the exhibition however, other images seep into the consciousness. Nestled among the large bold works are smaller canvases with maternal images of nurturing and grooming; a mother hen on her nest, a toucan guarding a cradle. The juxtaposition of the two creates a palpable tension.

These works are a significant departure from Ted May’s signature frenetic line drawings. The canvases have been pared back, over-painted and abstracted with blocks of colour that contain and define the imagery while his energetic drawing still exists, and is sometimes evident, through the layers of pure pigment.

There is so much energy in these canvases, and yet it is the restraint that gives them their strength - the product of Ted reaching an artistic maturity. 

Marita Smith, Gallery Director, Gallerysmith