Isabelle Szczotka

Lives and works in Adelaide South Australia, Australia

Artist statement

My practice examines the medium of painting and highlights its inherent poetic ability, one that differs from writing or speaking. I use painting as a bridge between the past and the present. Compositions eventuate from meditations on the passing of time and are carved from memories of colour, space, or place. My work employs architectural motifs or draws upon imagery from the natural world. By doing so, compositions oscillate between the recognizable and the unfamiliar, stirring the viewer's imagination and inviting them to become present with the work. My practice is material-led, working with a process that is based on the observations and connections drawn between colour and composition. I search for feeling within colour and composition, much like a composer does when working with sound and music. The contrast of silence and noise within a painting is foundational to the way that I compose an image. Manipulating spatial qualities such as line, colour, or space is a way to guide the viewer's gaze around the image. My work grapples with the idea that painting solely exists as a static object. Through the methods of layering and erasure, I search to uncover knowledge about the nature of time and its connection to painting. Knowledge that is primarily grounded in the spiritual and experiential.

Artwork