Kiss of Summer

7 November – 7 December 2008,  Inspirit Studio and Gallery, Tamahere, Hamilton

  Something contained in a work needs to grab the viewer’s attention. On entering the gallery, I was apprehended by the overwhelming presence of blue-ness. Amanda Watson’s recent body of paintings, Kiss of Summer, are not typical summer scenes. No blistering sun-kissed beaches. Instead, there is a preponderance of Ultramarines and Prussian and Royal blues (and every hue in between) which was visually arresting. So much so that I have to say she utilises the colour blue better than any artist that I have seen. 

  These works employ the colour Ultramarine not just because of the "luminous quality found on the coast" in Whaingaroa (Raglan), but also because of the translation of the words from Latin: Beyond the sea. Watson’s visual referent is to a life beyond this one and to the blue that is also assigned as the colour of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Watson’s skies are evocative of the skyscapes that Buck Nin so beautifully painted. Though it isn’t possible to tell what the artist’s reference to the skies were, they could be read as Nin’s were – to signify the place of a Deity, perhaps?

Among her atmospheric landscapes are works such as Shining in the Dark, 100 km/hour and Ruminate. Though these were among the smaller works and easy to overlook, their Fomisonesque style were able to transcend size and speak to me because they allowed the colour and subject to narrate.

The works that have native flora and fauna as foreground to moody skies and seas, whilst they are successful works, the presence of subject was almost a distraction from the sublime of the blue. There is vibrancy visible in her works that originates from a passionate and long time love of nature. Watson paints with great technical skill and a deep sincerity. Ultimately, the triumph of this series is Watson’s ability to evoke that sense of awe felt whilst looking upon magnificence. 

Reviewed by Leafa Wilson

Ensemble

A review of the recent group exhibition: artists include - Mark Wooller, Penior, Amanda Watson, Lynda Wilson, Paul Judd, Damien Kurth, Maree Glass and Jessica Crothall

La Mezz Gallery, Hamilton
21 May – 13 June 2009

The recent exhibition 'Ensemble' at La Mezz Gallery, Hamilton, was a cohesive yet elaborate selection curated by Amanda Watson.  Aptly titled, it was a gathering of fifteen works painted by eight established artists who, despite their variation in pitch, sing tunefully together.  Watson's hanging facilitated dialogue between high realism, stencil, figurative and abstract expressionism, the bulk of which were of extremely high calibre.  Most of the work exhibited had an illustrious depth provoking more than a mere surface reading. 

The spatial layout of the mezzanine gallery gave plenty of breathing room to digest the collection, although the cramped entrance inhibited full appreciation of the first few paintings.  Within the first enclave, the paired landscapes of Jessica Crothall and Mark Wooller were hung side by side, linked by their landscape theme; their commonality however was thematic rather than stylistic.  Crothall's texturally rich abstracted landscapes ‘Near the Summit’ and ‘Towards the Light’ focused on mark-marking and appealed to woodcutting techniques, whereas Wooller's ‘Netted Inlet I’ and ‘Netted Inlet II’ alluded to strong environmental influences featuring a confluence of different elements and flatter in comparison. 

The third bay explored and disrupted the viewer's traditional reading of work in relationship to an object's representation.  Intriguing encaustic techniques utilised by Lynda Wilson in ‘Table Dwellers’ challenged reality in time and space, by featuring commonplace life scenes set on tables.  This was further accentuated by Paul Judd's ‘Strangers Again’ that addressed issues of gender and role.  Damien Kurth's male and female pairs of china cups, video, audio and robot parts demanded a non-traditional reading of his highly realistic diptychs.  All of these works required that the viewer consider more than a simplistic reading of the objects and ponder what, in fact, the artist was seeking to provoke in distorting reality.

All credit to the curator — the flow and high standard of content declare ‘Ensemble’ a well thought-out and presented collection.

Written and reviewed by Emily Hill