Out/About: MARISA PURCELL ‘Screen’
Abstract art is deeply engaged with science and the natural universe and yet not always in specific ways that are readily apparent. Discovering ways to articulate these often complex ideas provides the central motivation for artist Marisa Purcell when she enters her Bondi studio. In this exhibition at the Edwina Collette Gallery Purcell looks specifically at the ‘screen’ both as a metaphysical concept and a physical manifestation.
Purcell explains that painting allows her to indulge her very varied interest base (she has a long and dedicated study of science and philosophy to draw from) and filter it through her work; as a result the canvas becomes the actual screen on which to project her ideas. Intangible concepts about the nature of reality, coupled with the open-ended process of making an artwork, gives rise to paintings that provoke thought and engage the senses.
You wouldn’t be alone in assuming that these artworks could be dark and introspective but the opposite is true, Purcell finds joy and optimism and there is a tremendous sense of wonder in these works. The viewer is left to feel like we’re exploring a distant corner of an uncharted universe. Purcell applies thinly veiled layers of transparent colour that materialize like watercolor on the linen surface, she then overlays gestural and intricate marks with ink, dried pigments and pastels. The process is highly experimental, with the choice of materials being informed by what occurred previously, one action prompting the next. As Purcell explains “I can do with the brush things that I could not otherwise predict or preempt.”
Akin to alchemy, Purcell conjures an exquisitely beautiful collection of paintings that provide a glimpse into the connections that underpin our place in the natural world. Her works glisten and dance, in surprisingly varied ways, and it’s impossible not to share in her enthusiasm.
Marisa Purcell ‘Screen’
Edwina Corlette Gallery
2/555 Brunswick Street
New Farm QLD 4005
Tues to Sat 10am – 5pm
or by appointment
14 May – 11 June 2016
Credits: Images courtesy of the artist Marisa Purcell and Edwina Corlette Gallery
Words: Katrina Arent
