From the word go I felt like the baby, not only in age but also in experience and exposure. Here I arrived with a bag full of golden toys and photographs that looked messy and disorganised in comparison with the sleek layouts done by Janet Solomon, the honest discussions logged by Dee Donaldson and the very considered imagery of Grace Kotze. But by stepping back it was clear that each painter’s process was a true reflection of their work and themselves. Diverse as we are there is a constant theme that runs through all four bodies of work; growth, change, loss, longing, and an emotional realisation of the past and what has been.
anet norval
Installation view
The long awaited work from Dee Donaldson, took my breath away when she finally decided to reveal the meticulously wrapped packages that tickled the curiosity of everyone in the gallery. A precisely planned process which revealed her loss, but in the same breath her bravery to expose her inner and most private emotions experienced during the last couple of months. Dee’s work is hauntingly honest and describes feelings few of us want to acknowledge.
All of Janet Solomon’s works feels like a self-portrait, they encapsulates her extraordinary sense of detail and watching her hang her work with meticulous precision left me in awe. The main thing that draws me into Janet’s work, is that all of the smaller areas are treated with such consideration, and when combined end up in one very finished piece. If I can compare it to a Zen garden, raked over and over until not one line is out of sync, this also comes across as Janet’s therapy, continually working up a surface until it is perfect.
All of Janet Solomon’s works feels like a self-portrait, they encapsulates her extraordinary sense of detail and watching her hang her work with meticulous precision left me in awe. The main thing that draws me into Janet’s work, is that all of the smaller areas are treated with such consideration, and when combined end up in one very finished piece. If I can compare it to a Zen garden, raked over and over until not one line is out of sync, this also comes across as Janet’s therapy, continually working up a surface until it is perfect.
anet norval
Installation view
When looking at Grace Kotze’s work, I get the impression she loves her medium and understands how to manipulate it to do exactly what she wants it to. I have always been a fan of Grace’s work; she spends time looking and captures something we all relate to, not only light on specific subjects but also some sort of nostalgia or emotion that shakes things up deep inside. I feel some sort of loss/ longing when I look at her work and ponder how some of us notice our surroundings in a more poetic way.
Being part of Formation made me reflect on the complexities every painter goes through to create a final piece that they willingly share with an audience, who usually cannot tap into the emotion or frustration of the ambiguous thoughts that are imbedded in every mark. Painting is an emotional and draining practise, which leaves one empty after a body of work is completed.
Being part of Formation made me reflect on the complexities every painter goes through to create a final piece that they willingly share with an audience, who usually cannot tap into the emotion or frustration of the ambiguous thoughts that are imbedded in every mark. Painting is an emotional and draining practise, which leaves one empty after a body of work is completed.
anet norval
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