JAN FIELDSEND

Bronze Age

A series of acrylic paintings, mainly on reflective paper. 

The metallic ground implies a history, and gives a very particular feel depending on how the light falls. The bronze works carry a palpable weight while the silvery scapes are all air. Lustrous surfaces set the scene for a staging of improvised movements or vignettes. There is as much looking and listening in the process as there is painting. Figure out how to put satisfying marks onto a slippery surface. Subtle private marks, not public gestures. Nothing about imparting any wisdom to the world. Make a move. Choose a colour that the paper asks for and then subsequent shapes and shades fit in or struggle against what exists, or could be erased. Work with harmony and agitation; beauty, the inconsequential and unruliness. Discipline the skittery-ness and abandon old habits. Allow for human untidiness.  

Leave some things unanswered. 

 
Image credit: Jan Fieldsend, The Living Sparkle, 2016-2018, acrylic on paper, 225x198cm