THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE

Michael Desmond (ACT)

25 July - 10 August 2025, Platform
Exhibition opening 6pm Thursday 24 July 2025

Alchemists once tried to find the Philosopher’s Stone which was believed to be able to transform base metals into gold.  As an artist, I attempt a similar trick: to turn ordinary materials (fabric and coloured muds) into something higher - art. 

My pet philosophies are not always directly pictured: most are visualised by way of parable, metaphor or simile.  I attempt images of Chance, Existence, Society, God, Violence, Human Nature and so on, painted as such morbid thoughts occur to me at this stage of life but also because they are the societal threads that bind things together.

These images are intended to be talismans rather than profound.  They are not realistic, so can be an exercise in colour and composition. The subjects of the paintings derive from questions to myself asked during lockdown and after, but I’m a painter not a philosopher so this is not Socratic dialogue, just pictures.  The series is intended to be vehicle for wit rather than depth and offer charm rather than provocation. They are little thought bubbles, so are small and framed in ornate, paint-decorated frames to evoke the sensation of either a fetish or a quote. 

Image: Michael Desmond The Peaceable Kingdom 2024