Nocturnal Assembly

Nocturnal Assembly by Anthony Carey, a textured blue figurative painting showing three tall, fragmented figures surrounded by smaller shadowy forms.
  • Detail of Nocturnal Assembly showing two fragmented figures built from thick blue, white, red and yellow paint against a dark blue surface.

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  • Detail of Nocturnal Assembly showing the edge of a pale textured figure beside a shadowy group of partially concealed forms.

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About the work

Nocturnal Assembly began without a predetermined subject. The figures emerged gradually as I worked with acrylic and plaster, responding to shapes that appeared within the developing surface. Three taller forms came forward, accompanied by smaller, less distinct presences. Their arrangement suggested a gathering taking place beyond ordinary view.


The original title was Nocturnal Assembly: A Midnight Communion. I associated the gathering with accounts of secret meetings in Irish history, when people came together at night because meeting openly carried risk. The painting carries a sense of concealment, which shaped how I came to understand the figures.


The plaster gives the three principal figures a pale, fractured physical presence against the surrounding blue. Although they occupy the same space, they remain psychologically separate. Smaller, kneeling forms are partly absorbed into the surface, but their role within the gathering remains uncertain.


The painting leaves the purpose of the assembly unresolved. It might be a meeting, a ritual or an act of collective waiting. What connects the figures is not a clear narrative, but the sense that something is being shared under circumstances that require secrecy.


Artwork details
202
Acrylic and plaster on canvas
70 × 50 cm framed
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