 | Simon Edwards: “The landscape has been the source of my work…The work places itself somewhere between a modernistic reliance on the essential qualities (of the materials and methods of painting), and an awareness of traditional forms of the landscape. I use this as a departure point, for entering into a process of layering and rubbing back, setting up a dialogue between myself, the medium and the landscape. The work becomes a result of reacting to what is happening on the surface at the time, and building on chance effects that present themselves, contributing to a sense of space, distance and movement.” (1)
“Strongly atmospheric, his current paintings are monochromatic interpretations of a familiar environment.” (2) “Without colour you get rid of a huge element of intuitive and emotional response. The viewer can focus on the actual landscape. The content carries more weight” (3)
Edwards’ earlier work clearly showed the influence of 19th century landscape artists like Friedrich and Turner but this influence was mediated by a 20th Century modernist and post-modernist perspective. Edwards shared Turner’s “muted fuscous palette, loose breathless brushstrokes and an interest in the dramatic interplay of light, weather and land.” He “draws influence from a wide circle… his use of lighting, for example speaks of Mark Rothko" and thereby forges “a powerful style that resides in the fertile zone between landscape and abstraction”... he keeps a lid on his evocative use of colour, and does not let his use of the sublime slip into excess. As result, in each painting there exists a palpable tension between drama and restraint, and his works thrive on it.” (4)
Born Christchurch, New Zealand 1975. Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts 1997. Finalist in the 1997 Cranleigh Barton Drawing Award. Simon has exhibited regularly since 1998. He lives and works in Christchurch. He is represented in numerous New Zealand collections including the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.
(1) Simon Edwards, Artist’s Statement.
(2) Sandra Taylor, ‘Canterbury Reflections’, The Press, 19 December 2001.
(3) Simon Edwards in ibid
(4) Nicola Mutch, ‘Shades of Turner’, Otago Daily Times, 7 December 1999. | |
