Chantel de Latour, Balcony, looking out to sea , 2024, acrylic on board (framed), 41 x 30.5cm. Courtesy of MARS and the artist.

“Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ~ Henry James

Chantel de Latour’s Summer afternoon is a series of new works of intimate interiors and landscapes that distill the atmosphere and qualities of particular places inhabited, visited and remembered.

Her small-scale paintings explore the transitory effects of shifting light as it meanders across the landscape, accentuating the colours of heat, shade and reflection. Architectural forms are often present in these paintings and distance and scale are key elements in her compositions – interior windows ‘frame’ or ‘contain’ the landscapes within them, which further emphasises the presence of the viewer and encourages closer observation. These small works then appear as windows or portals in themselves.

Chantel completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts (2011) and a Graduate Certificate in Art History at the University of Melbourne (2018). She has been a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize and is the recipient of the Gary Fell and Shelmerdine Art Awards.

Opening event: Thursday 13 March, 6-8pm