Mario Naves

voice farm, 2010

acylic paint and pasted paper

9 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches

Image: Elizabeth Harris Gallery

I'm a big fan of Mario Naves' work. I wrote about him a while ago HERE and only just realised he has recently produced more of his beautiful painterly collages when I stumbled on his writing blog - Too Much Art. I won't gush again as I have already done so. Have a look at his recent work at Elizabeth Harris Gallery. It's well worth it.

John Peart

Shadowgrille - 2009
120x194cm
oil and acrylic on canvas
Image: Watters Gallery, Sydney

Just the other day I had the opportunity to meet with Sydney abstract painter, John Peart, at Watters Gallery where we had a rambling conversation about his latest show Mainly Painting. Comprised mainly of large canvases made from smaller panels, the work is full of intrigue; amorphous forms, spidery lines and surfaces ranging from roughly textured to lightly stained. These are the kind of abstract paintings that keep me looking, guessing and wondering.

Talking to Peart was a refreshing experience given that it was quickly obvious that he was open to my interpretations. Indeed, when I asked him if he liked talking about his work he reflected 'not so much talking about it but I do like being prompted by questions from others, it makes me think about possibilities'. This flexibility; being open to questions and possibilities, is key and it's clearly evident in the way he treats each panel separately and then unifies or assembles them later, into larger canvases. Doing so welcomes a sense of surprise and play that provides a freedom from being entirely preoccupied with picture making as an end product. It's more about engaging with the paint and its myraid possibilities. On a smaller scale the collages in the show echo this process and, to my mind, represent a playfully direct way of juxtaposing bright amorphous forms with web like grounds.

Space is a major element in Peart's work. In a painting such as 'Pour Favour' (please?) there is a distinct feeling that one can fall into or through spaces or holes, as if there is another world behind the prevailing layers.

In 'Shadowgrille' (featured here) space is suggested by playful lines: some scrathy, as an overlay, some flat and inky and some fuzzy/blurry on top. It's as if a paint soaked grub took a wander along the surface leaving a trail like the marks one might find on a scribbly gum. I'm naturally drawn to the tensions set up by multiple edges in this painting, an effect resulting from the joining of the four separate panels post-painting. To add further to its complexity, Peart concocts a subtle shift in the character of the line so that it changes from deep dark to grey blurred. The overall effect is intensely dynamic; the viewer is not passively gazing but rather actively moving in and out of the picture space.

Echoing Shadowgrille is a wall sculpture. Made from eucalyptus branches, 'E camaldulensis' first comes across as a random scattering of bush debris on a forest floor but further investigation reveals a series of driving lines that splinter off from the base, weaving in and out to make a support of wooden webs or grids. It's a form that is beautifully resolved and as it hovers airily on the wall the branches cast shadows affecting a second dimension on to the blank space behind so that the entire piece takes on a kind of physical reflection of the concerns embodied by the paintings surrounding it.

The idea of endless choices in painting is such a delicious one. And, dare I say it - pursuing substance over style - is what a painting by John Peart is all about. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next! So if you're in town, I highly recommend that you go and see this show. Also, you can read a really great interview from 2007 with John Peart here.

Paul Higgs

Paul Higgs
Paint Construct E 2009
wood, fabric & mixed media on paper
78 x 103 cm
Image: Stella Downer Fine Art

Here is an artist who I've admired for an age yet never really been able to experience until recently when I saw his work first hand. Here's an image from Paul Higgs' upcoming show. He calls these painting constructions (not collage) which to me is such a delicious term because it captures exactly what painting implies; that being both a cognitive and intuitive process of placing and pushing elements of line, form and colour. Collage (or in this case, construction) has everything to do with the painting process and it bridges a gap between what can erroneously be defined as the separate disciplines of painting and drawing. In my own practice I frequently find myself obsessively hording failed bits of painting or drawing, or scraps of paper painted with left over colour which I rip and place; experimenting with combinations I might not have the guts to go through with on canvas. Whether or not these become works in their own right they almost always provide a solution for a tricky painting problem.

Here's more about Paul Higgs from his upcoming show:

" .....a tense and surprising music like, considered balance of complex opposites. The inert and the frenetic, energy and rest, harmony and dissonance, all find unity in these energetic, playful and joyous compositions. His paintings and mixed media paint constructs are a testament to his commitment to abstraction.
HIGGS' works are a vigorous repartee between colour, line, texture and movement.

Jason Rosenberg

Painting meets collage with Jason Rosenberg. Enjoy!

Mario Naves

Mario Naves
Postcard from Florida #19, 2006
acrylic paint and pasted paper
7 X 5 inches
Image from: Elizabeth Harris Gallery

I've been all a flutter over the collages of Mario Naves that I stumbled upon over at the blind swimmer. For Naves, collage is akin to painting. I totally agree.

Indeed, Naves certainly has a painter's sensibility.

I wish I could go and see this exhibition but unfortunately my place is a little too far from NYC. This awesome video did help.

In his current exhibition Mr Naves creates startingly beautiful little collages out of torn painted paper which he prepares himself. (This is a process that I've been using for some time too. Collage is a satisfying way to work through painting problems.) Naves confidently plays with the relationships between and amongst tones, hues and texture (varied brushstokes in particular) and seems to revel in the delicious feeling of placing paper, like paint, over a surface to mask, energise or reveal.

Those georgeous colours. I'm reminded of Bonnard's paintings for some inexplicable reason.

Over here, I found another painter, Kenzo Okada, who Naves shares an affinity with. Okada paints using similar subtle shifts in tones. Unfortunately I can't find any decent images but from the available jpegs I could swear that the paint is laid down as if it were paper rather than a liquid medium.