May 9, 2015
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Nicolas Party infiltrates the stairways, corridors and all seven galleries of Inverleith House with an air of art-historical mischief. Decorative murals frame a series of pastel and charcoal drawings that can be read as a comprehensive pastiche of modern art trends. There are Hockney-esque ripples, dancing rhythms worthy of Matisse, dappled subtleties reminiscent of Bonnard. But Party swerves straight homage, introducing pixelations that reflect on the status of the unique art object in an age of digital reproduction. There are gothic forests and psychedelic skies. There are flights of abstraction and a precise painting of a teapot. It’s a heady mix of samplings and quotations, a cliche onslaught, enough to turn the stomach as well as lift the spirit.