Fair Art Fair x The Auction Collective

‘Red sky at night’ is a part of series examining the play between abstraction and representation. Working primarily with water-based materials allows the use of water itself as part of the process, painting layers and then fully or partially washing them away, taking advantage of the ‘happy accidents’ that occur, bringing an element of experimentation into every painting. I enjoy the use of adding a graphic line to create silhouettes, redacting negative space, playing with foreground/background, or focusing so closely on something that it becomes essentially abstract.

Abstraction has been a fundamental part of Rebecca’s practice since her Fine Art Degree (1992-96). Using landscape and the natural world as a starting point, the subject then fully or partially gives way to the pure joy of paint, drawn lines and marks on a surface. And once a painting is complete there then begins a collaborative interaction with the viewer, allowing them the freedom to bring their own experiences, emotions and memories to their reading of the work. She works towards abandoning the sense that abstraction and figuration are mutually exclusive. The paintings can depict a notionally ‘real’ space, whilst also functioning, on closer inspection, as autonomous, non-referential, abstract and emotional objects.

Rebecca says, “My consistent focus since graduating has been to play with the balance between representation and abstraction, the idea of suggesting something to a viewer and then essentially thwarting that perception by drawing them in to see the beauty of paint on a surface. The perception of the viewer is essential to the concept of the paintings, they may ‘see’ something recognizable, relate to a painting on some level involved with their own memories, but I want to take them past that, to see the paint, react emotionally to the actual painting, not just to the perceived subject of the piece.”

Accolades

Artistic education
1992-1996 BA Hons Fine Art, Reading University

Submissions and selections
2022 Selected for ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries
2022 Selected for Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
2022 Longlisted and Shortlisted for Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter prize
2022 Featured in Gita Joshi’s ‘Art Seen’ magazine
2021 Selected for ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries
2021 Highly Commended longlist for Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize

Gallery representation

Wychwood Art

Hampstead Garden Gallery

Mint Arts

Affordable Art Fair

BobCat Gallery