Off cuts – Olivia Chamberlain
In Off cuts Christchurch-based painter Olivia Chamberlain continues her exploration of tone, shape and texture. Diligently constructed through careful juxtapositions, each work is a balance of subtle layering of translucent colours, uneven surfaces, curves, points and intersections. Perched between perfectly designed planes of paint and serendipitous surface variations, the paintings have a warmth and approachability.
Colour choices are informed by the passing of time and Chamberlain’s sun-drenched studio overlooking a central city square – bright sunlight moving across the canvas, paint drying, the mottled light of trees and vibrant natural and artificial materials.
Sharp contoured edges fence in pools of colour, which appear to float atop the cotton and canvas grounds. Viewed closely, the works reveal how the paint delicately sits into the ground – making each thread a point of interest. These works invite us to soak in the harmonies of their precise abstract compositions.
Read more about this body of work in our City Art Reader interview with Olivia Chamberlain.
