From Sharne Wolff…
A recent win in last years Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (judged by John McDonald) for her large drawing Keys Bridge in Flood demonstrated Emma Walker’s ability to capture raw emotion. It also gave her profile a well-deserved boost. Painted straight onto timber board, her latest solo exhibition of paintings is named after a chapter in philosopher Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space. Intimate Immensity is an apt title. Mirroring her practice an as artist who is interested in the notion of a private universe, or in her own words, “the tiny and ever-expanding universes that we hold within ourselves” this latest display of works are paintings of abstract clusters that paradoxically seem quite personal on the one hand while being expansive on the other.
Reminiscent of elements from natural ecosystems that could equally be aquatic or terrestrial, Walker’s work is open to possibilities. Both large and small paintings coax the viewer with bursts of random colour. Warm pinks and reds, mossy greens and pale yellows on the surface provide contrast when layered over milky-dark and greyish forms that blur and loom in and out of view. Apparently inspired by small moments of consciousness and memory, each work is an individual – but the harmony among the group makes for a great show.
Until May 30
Arthouse Gallery, Rushcutters Bay
Pic: Emma Walker Intimate immensity I oil and acrylic on board 122 x 150 cm. Courtesy the artist and Arthouse Gallery.
