Fergus Robertson

Coincidentia Oppositorum

Fergus Robertson is a self-taught artist from Christchurch. Having spent ten years as a butcher he is new to the art world,,meticulously painting delicate floral arrangements and juxtaposing them with heavy steel frames, in order to explore the balance of masculine and feminine.

Jessica Ritchie

Infinite Beginnings

My paintings are a reflection upon the art of painting itself: abstract drawing from colour, light, and
music. My work is concerned with process, with the exploration of the formal qualities of painting, and
of the infinite possibilities of touch with paint. Located within the context of the field of abstract
painting, the term ‘abstraction’ is used in a questioning and provisional sense rather than as a
categorising or labelling term; considering complexity rather than reduction. The paintings show the
potential of abstract painting to communicate light, space, and time. I am particularly interested in the
discordant notion that a painting or thing might be two (or more) things at once – beautiful and
grotesque, for example, or exuberant and abject, exploring the constantly shifting criteria required for a
work to be considered complete.
Shimmering materiality seduces the eye and stimulates sense of touch, while at the same time the
acrylic boxes and frames denies the possibilities of a tactile experience. Drawn to anything reflective,
lustrous, iridescent, and saturated, my recent paintings have focussed on intensity and exuberance. On
closer inspection many reveal themselves as ‘accumulations of debris’, from building up of surfaces,
scraped and gathered paint, and other materials. The expressive force resides in the materiality of
colour, texture, and excess.

Frances Malcolm

‘Magnificence’

‘Captivated by the magnificence found in nature, my inspiration to paint comes from my experiences in the outdoors, my love for colour and the way light falls on the finer and more intricate details found in nature.’