IN THE VICINITY OF TENSION

These pieces look at the tension that occurs between elements. They were heavily influenced by the experience of swimming in a kelp forest during the equinox in Co. Donegal. The eye is drawn to the distinct line across the canvas where colour and form are pushed against each other, as if from different vistas. Water and air pull together at the submerging horizon. The use of negative space adds to a sense of blurring between plains. Quick-blended brushstrokes in oil capture the feeling of dancing fractures where light succeeds and fails to permeate.

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RIALAIG SERIES - NEW WORKS

I’m delighted to share a series of work I created back in January before the world tipped upside down. I spent 10 days at Cill Rialaig near the small town of Ballinskelligs. The weather shifted into torrential downpour and howling winds more than once, and the very short days meant that working late into the evening in front of the fire became a daily ritual. This series was funded through the sale of my ’Kerry Encounters’ colour postcards, so for those of you who purchased a postcard and supported the residency, Thanks a mill!  

Veils Across The Blue
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Veils Across The Blue
A$160.00

I characterise my paintings as gestural and experimental, with a strong emphasis on capturing the essence of specific elements of the landscape. In the case of these monoprints, my mark-making was heavily influenced by how  the changing skies over the atlantic during the winter months shape the relationship between water and air. They respond to the site of Bolus Head, looking across the ocean towards The Skelligs, in West Kerry.

Grooved Sea and Self Naming Islands
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Grooved Sea and Self Naming Islands
A$160.00
Tumultous Horizon
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Tumultous Horizon
A$100.00 A$200.00

The imagery is not grounded in representation, but rather a reimagining of the atmosphere of a site.  The works depict a blending of sea and sky, where the horizon line moves in and out of focus. The wind blown clouds quickly shift, opening bright for short moments, then veiling the scape once again. There is an urgency in the clouds depicted through haphazard mark making and an evocation of West Kerry’s battering storms.My hand is heavy but the application of ink is fluid, leaving behind traces of my process through scraping, scouring and pushing colour across the plate. The works create a balance between elements, rain and sea, clouds and wind, often with one reflecting the movement of the other. 

rialaig series

I used Akua inks, which have a tendency towards a more milky appearance, to further point to the haziness of the vistas. While in residency at Bolus Head I created bio colour inks from materials I gathered on site. Charred Oak (from the stove in my old stone cottage, and my main source of heat) has been mixed with the Akua Ink and applied to the second plate of the monoprints. The contrast of the charcoal adds to the sense of chaos of skies.

With Water Dark And Glowing
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With Water Dark And Glowing
A$160.00

The titles are inspired by “Ten Poems about Clouds”, selected by Katharine Towers. A beautiful compilation of poems that could be described as a ‘cloud appreciation book’. It is available through candlestick press.co.uk and features the work of Liz Berry, Billy Collins, John Glenday, Paul Mehan, Fiona Sampson, Leslie Saunders, Katherine Towers, Sarah Westcott and Derek Walcott. Other titles are from Robert Frost’s ‘A Line-Storm Song’ and Emily Dickinson’s ‘The Sky Is Low’.

All pieces are available unframed as delivery increases significantly on framed work, but if you would like to chat about framing, please let me know and we can work something out. I’m also happy to share my two cents on framing options for the works, even if you frame them closer to home. 

Kari x

Red Canopy X ALS

August, for me, always means Another Love Story. The most precious festival out there in a place that means so much to me. Killyon Manor hosts ALS every year on their vast grounds, and it’s exciting to watch the ALS crew pull together such a wonderfully engaging and thoughtful festival during the lead up to the weekend. Killyon was where I called home for the Winter 2017 into 2018 and the ground, as well as being one of the best spots for foraging for blackberries, walnut, oak galls, birch bark and elderberries, always ignites a feeling of home for me. This ALS I was given the opportunity to install ‘Red Canopy’ in the forest.

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Immeditately the red hues of the pieces drew out the red tones of the soil. The twisting roots and branches of the trees are echoed in the painted strokes, constantly moving upward towards the forest canopy. I use gestural movements to react to spaces. I pour, drip, scrape, blush and bruise colour onto the surface of my paintings. Layering textures becomes a way to investigate the relationship between hues and tones. Colours emerge directly from the environment dictating the palette I work with. Colour asks to be seen. The simple application of colour to a surface is nuanced, bridges the gap in our relationship to the environments we inhabit.

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The audience moved through the installation guided by their curiosity to keep discovering colours through the disruption of painted surfaces.  They were invited to come closer and move around to enjoy the negative space between the trees and the works.

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This was the first time I’ve had a chance to light the paintings, and Jerry came up with a subtle was to point LED spots at the works, embedding the wires and bulbs in dead branches laying on the forest floor. Although incredibly hard to photograph, the piece came alive at dusk, when the light only barely made it through the trees and the deep brown trunks and soil appeared almost black.

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Massive thanks to the ALS Crew, Fellipe Lopes, Steve O’Connor, Zoe Purcell & Jerry for helpign me pull this one off.

To see more work like this, and to follow my colour exploration you can join my Colour Newsletter. Each month will focus on a particular shade and I’ll share my findings, recipes for making, and uses by myself and other artists I admire.