Periphery

Periphery
Glenn Cummings
Acrylic on canvas, 900 x 1200 mm
Framed in Tasmanian oak

In Periphery, Glenn Cummings invites viewers to navigate the edge of recognition. Through layered strokes and shifting hues, a human presence emerges — not fully formed, but sensed — as if glimpsed from the corner of one’s eye. The work balances abstraction with figuration, weaving fragmented colour and texture into a composition that feels both deliberate and elusive. Cummings’ technique, built through successive grids and washes, evokes themes of memory, identity, and the transitory nature of perception. Framed in warm Tasmanian oak, the piece is grounded in a tactile sense of materiality, while simultaneously pointing toward the intangible — what we almost see, what we nearly remember.

Follow

Glenn Cummings
Acrylic Artist | Abstract Impressionist | Visual Alchemist

Glenn Cummings is a contemporary Australian artist working primarily in acrylic on canvas. With a foundation in graphic design and illustration spanning several decades, Cummings now explores the expressive boundaries of abstraction, layering colour and form to engage the viewer’s perceptual imagination.

His works often utilise optical mixing—inviting each viewer to become an active participant in the creation of the image. Rather than presenting a single static interpretation, Cummings crafts visual fields where colour relationships and spatial ambiguity trigger unique responses within the viewer’s own visual cortex. This interplay ensures that no two experiences of his work are the same.

While some pieces echo urban landscapes or figuration through fragmented form, others lean toward what might be described as abstract impressionism—gestural, intuitive, and richly layered. The result is a body of work that is as intellectually curious as it is visually compelling.

Cummings’ work continues to evolve as he experiments with perception, pattern, and painterly process—drawing on his history in design but breaking away from its constraints to embrace a more open-ended visual dialogue.