Ashlee Becks: Vinegar Bath

Ashlee Becks, I see right through you, 2023, oil on canvas, 120 x 90cm

Artereal Gallery presents Ashlee Becks’ second solo exhibition with the gallery. Titled Vinegar Bath, the exhibition showcases a series of new paintings exploring themes of self-discovery, isolation and co-dependency through thick impasto mark making.

The opposing aspects of pain and pleasure epitomise Becks’ approach to painting and to being at home: “at once a place of sanctuary but also a place where I feel lonely and where my mental illness can be exacerbated…” Swathes of rich viscous oil paint in muted colours are applied with a palette knife and build on the canvas: evidence of the artist, her presence and labour and process of self-discovery.

Selected paintings in the exhibition are suspended on lilac ribbons that pool and spill on the gallery floor; an intimate gesture from the artist to the viewer who is encouraged to explore their own relationships to home and to self.