Enter the abstract

British artist Zanny Mellor addresses themes of speed, light and time in a sensory exploration of place. The impermanence of material, experience and perception drive her painting and photography work where states of presence and remembrance are examined and a tension between control and chance is actively sort after. 

"My travels in Iceland have hugely informed the body of work I’ve been producing for the last few years and I have focussed on time, light and process in the artwork’s production. It is the experience in nature and wilder places that nourish my creative practice as I engage with the longer timeframes within the landscape; daily and seasonal change, geological transformation and the cycles of decay and growth. I measure these through different speeds of painting, with both swift and sudden gestures, as well as slow methodical layering, which are both evident in my photograms and paintings in Enter The Abstract.

The linear elements that take diligent masking in Increments 1 and the diptych Into, reference a graph of the annual amount of daylight that the country of Iceland receives each year. Studying this was a way to tune in to seasonal changes which are especially apparent in the UK where I live, but they also became a visual tool to structure and contain the quicker, more impulsive painting gestures that I enjoy to use."

Fluidity is a defining material concern in her process-led practice, where reductive actions create a measured, gestural language. Mellor completed a Masters in Fine Art at City & Guilds of London Art School in 2015 with Distinction. Recent projects include group show Render Permanent at Lewisham Arthouse, Abstract Reality at Saatchi Gallery and The Shape of Light, a collaborative residency and installation at Lumen Studios.

Her work is held in private collections in the UK, Europe, South Africa, UAE and Australia.

Read more about Zanny Mellor's approach to her artwork in this interview here.