I am committed to abstraction. The work of Marc Rothko, Willem De Kooning and Paul Klee had a strong impact on my artistic education.
I don’t try to depict reality, I rely on colour, contrast and texture to convey my feelings and make things visible. My canvases are a mix of purely formal elements and potential narrative. Images originate in fragments of personal and cultural history, in responses to travel, recollection of journeys. Traces of places once visited, of colours seen evolve as an introspective diary of history, times and places.
For the last 20 years she has been travelling extensively to Africa, Asia and Europe.
“I spend a lot of time observing to absorb some details that I will use as a starting point for an abstraction. I love experimenting and am always looking for new techniques.
Ataraxia (Peace of Mind), 152 x 91cm, 59.84 x 35.82 inches, Mixed Media,2005
I often start my paintings with a layer of collage, sand and impasto before developing the work with subtle layers of intermixed colours in acrylic, oil, glazing and gold leaf. I use a variety of mixed materials including pigment, Chinese paper and sand to create a surface that undulates, with intense patterning and texture.
I incorporate in the process details extracted from landscapes, walls, objects, transposing them in geometrical shapes, lines, scratches, brush marks and movements.
I work from within letting all the elements I have been gathering come back with my feelings.
I have an obsession for the square, the most perfect geometrical shape, and for lines. A line, boundary, edge or contour is an agent of location, energy and growth.
My key words are balance, contrast, and colour. I construct my paintings carefully focusing on the visual qualities of shape and space, texture and light, free from the constraints of real world objectivity. Clearly separated forms coexist with fluidity, a combination of floating and solidity. The tactile quality of the work is part of the process.
Earth Song 1 Canto de la Tierra 1, Chant de la Terre 1, 91 x 91 cm, 35.82 x 35.82 inches, Mixed Media on Canvas, 2002
I need the stimulation of an upcoming exhibition to produce a coherent series centering on a particular subject or a tangible reflection of my research and introspection. It is then to have the pleasure of seeing it come alive in front of an audience. I especially enjoy the challenge and excitement to create works for a commission which will fulfill a client’s expectations.
My art is a lot about expressing ideas and feelings and to establish a connection through colours, shapes, texture… I believe that my studies in psychology at University have helped enormously in being able to comprehend quite well what people would like to express through a commission.”
A truly contemporary artist Christine explores the major cultural, political and ecological issues and believes that is the artist’s duty to contribute in raising awareness.