Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to EyeContact. You are invited to respond to reviews and contribute to discussion by registering to participate.

JH

Enlarged Bleached Maps on Telly

AA
View Discussion
<i>P926000 XIV</i>,  acrylic on canvas, 760 x 760 mm <i>P926000 VI</i>, acrylic on canvas, 1905 x 1905 mm <i>P926000 IX</i>, acrylic on canvas, 1100 x 1100 mm <i>P926000 XII</i>, acyrlic on canvas, 800 x 800 mm <i>P926000</i>, acrylic on canvas, 1300 x 1300 mm

They are a sort of grid painting (with tiny modules) where three varieties of overlapping map, representing topographic landforms, global contours, and inner city streets, coalesce with a form of aerial perspective that seems to show a high up, three-quarter view of city buildings.

Auckland

Sue Novell
Bionica

8 April - 8 May 2010

The seven paintings displayed by Sue Novell at Antoinette Godkin’s feature a colourful pixelated line where paint is applied in linear formations of small squares. They are a sort of grid painting (with tiny modules) where three varieties of overlapping map, representing topographic landforms, global contours, and inner city streets, coalesce with a form of aerial perspective that seems to show a high up, three-quarter view of city buildings.

So while they are highly abstract, and hint of the gesturally random and jumbled, you still think of maps, perhaps television screens, and rug or basket weaving - while also spotting the occasional rooftop, courtyard, park or waterfront. While at the first glance these paintings may seem formulaic, it doesn’t take too long to realise that the works greatly vary in canvas size, pixel size, chroma range, tonal range and density of mark. Some have surprises like double lines that look like knitted bike chains, or rectangular jutting forms near the bottom edge that look like fuzzy wharves or jetties.

Within these apparently competing systems the ones that aesthetically work best seem to be the densest in terms of surface covering and layering, and which feature fluid compositional movement and dramatic use of dark tones. The ambiguity of various interwoven amorphous forms is not undermined by too much openly airy space or perpendicular geometry.

Novell’s largest work here is the pale and less griddy P926000 VI. It has an all pervading looseness, and is the earliest of the series. The pastel squares are in fact blobby dots, whilst the whole surface is more painterly as a series of marks and less referencing of electronics. In contrast the middle sized works often have a diagonal movement of shimmering organic shapes while the smaller paintings have a nuggety compactness caused by relatively large dark pixels. That makes them somewhat graphic, bringing a crisp concision, an appealingly robust energy.

 

Print | Facebook | Twitter | Email

 

Recent Posts by John Hurrell

JH
Paul Davies, Untitled, 2024, acrylic on linen, 153 cm x 122 cm

Perplexing ‘Wildernesses’

STARKWHITE

Auckland

 

Paul Davies
Still Frame

 

24 October - 24 November 2024

 

JH
Michael Harrison, Crossroads, 2005-2024, acrylic on paper, 210 x 297 mm

Deliciously Ambiguous Harrison

IVAN ANTHONY GALLERY

Auckland

 

Michael Harrison
Ghost Selection Path


19 October - 16 November 2024

JH
Ronnie van Hout, The Second Coming, 2024, promotional image

Doomsday van Hout

IVAN ANTHONY GALLERY

Auckland


Ronnie van Hout
The Second Coming


19 October - 16 November 3024

JH
Paul Hartigan, Oil on Canvas, 2024, neon on paper. MED: 450 mm  x 720 mm x 40 mm; LGE: 560 mm x 920 mm x 40 mm

Recent Hartigan Works

TIM MELVILLE GALLERY

Auckland

 

Paul Hartigan
LIGHT

 

9 October - 2 November 2024