Midas Touch

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Downing Street

In The Midas Touch, artist Tom Harker plays with a scene from a familiar story prompting us to think deeper about something we think we know. In the background of this painting, set seemingly under the surface of water is an open hand, being withdrawn from the water. We see a slot machine of sorts, with dull grey coins spilling out of it onto the ‘floor’ but the only gold to be seen that we automatically might associate with the name ‘Midas’ is in the goldfish swimming in the foreground. The Midas Touch, references the well-known Greek myth of Midas who was granted his wish that anything he touched should turn to gold. Fewer people are familiar with the second part of the story where after the god Dionysus agreed to reverse this, Midas was told to dip his hands into a river. When he withdrew them the gold left his body and tinged the water. Regardless of the story though, the gold of fish, the dullness of the coins, which we might normally expect to see as gold, and the familiar title of the painting lures us deeper into the canvas to consider the meaning of what we see. Harker has spoken about how he is interested in reinterpretations of images and symbolic or metaphoric references to break familiar linear narratives. He speaks of ‘working with themes that slip between states, things like high/low culture, past and present, literal and duplicitous.’

Tom Harker was born in Worksop and is now based in London. He received a BA in Fine Arts from Leeds Art University in 2018, going on to the Royal College of Art where he received an MA in Painting in 2020. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at Screw Gallery Leeds; Copeland Gallery, London (both 2021); and Bo.lee Gallery, London (2019). He has shown work in group exhibitions at Guts Gallery, London; Galerie Mighela Shama, Geneva, Switzerland; Cob Gallery London (all 2022) and Tatjana Pieters in Ghent Belgium (2019). He won the Ingram Collection Purchase prize in 2018.

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil paint, painting (as object name), oil painting

Artist

Tomas Harker (1990 - )

Title

Midas Touch

Date

2021

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 75.0 cm; width: 60.4 cm; depth: 3.0 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from bo.lee gallery, December 2021

Provenance

bo.lee gallery; from whom purchased from UK Government Art Collection, 1 December 2021

GAC number

19030