Julie Pennington, Twist III, 2023. Toast clay, 18 x 15 x 15cm. Courtesy: the artist and Jennings Kerr, Robertson.
Jennings Kerr presents a dual exhibition of works by Julie Pennington and Tanya Wales at Sydney Contemporary.
Julie Pennington is a Canberra based ceramic artist whose work explores the subtleties and complexities of pattern and texture. Her methodically crafted vessels and sculptural works are characterised by her distinctive approach to the enduring technique of coil building. Each coil is textured and built ‘line by line’ generating surface texture that is evident in both the interior and exterior of the piece. Much of the inspiration behind Pennington’s work stems from observations and emotional responses to the natural environment, recently reflecting on the severe climatic conditions of drought and fire. Earlier experiences in textiles, drawing and printmaking also underpin her work and influences the way in which she interprets the world around her.
Tanya Wales is an abstract painter based in South Australia. The scale and tranquillity of Wales’s works invite the audience to pause, to breathe, to feel. Spurning the use of familiar reference points to elicit an emotional response, the flowing forms and fields of colour provoke deeply personal and diverse interpretations. A confluence of techniques including pouring, transparent layers, fine brushwork and painterly marks are used to create an otherworldly narrative balanced by a sense of ambiguity and the illusion of simplicity. The multi-layered tension between colour and form provide a sublime energy in the work. Calling on varied techniques and processes, Wales engages with a considered combination of elements across a concurrent series of works, building a complex narrative within each piece that references a point in time and a playful celebration of painting itself. Once completed, each work conveys the artist’s fascination with the fluid inevitability of life’s journey and with the paradox of knowing that despite all that has gone before all we ever really have is one perfect moment: the present.
