 | Rees’ works explore the relationship between the body and mind and the environment in which we exist. Within her recent canvases she depicts the body in motion, moving toward or away from the unknown. “What are we fleeing from? What are we hurtling towards? What are we leaving behind and what do we hope to find? Each to one's own path and motivation we are in motion in the passage of life and time. Each painting freeze-frames a moment; the last step has gone and the next is yet to come.” (1)
Previous bodies of work show figures at intersections, within moody and still landscapes. “They are…about people at intersections or crossroads of life. What we are witnessing are epiphanies, times of decision and apprehension. The works become analogies for points of change and transition in the stretch of human life, the physical, psychological and spiritual.” (2)
As with her figure works, her landscapes have a psychological element. Each enigmatic space conjures the feeling of isolation, potential and mystery. She achieves this through a controlled and unique use of paint. Rees works on carefully primed canvases, enhancing the luminous qualities of oil paint. At times she has created divisions in the picture plane which are either both real and imagined. “Light is a major component of her work. The light of the skies and backgrounds flood around the dark scumbled figures, providing them with brilliant auroras …which adds to the mystery of the works”. (3)
Rees was born in Palmerston North in 1959. She completed a Diploma in Fine Arts, Queen Elizabeth College in 1976 and a Diploma in Fine Arts [Painting], University of Canterbury in 1980. She has exhibited regularly since 1989. She is represented in major private collections nationally and one of the most significant private collections in the USA.
(1) Artist Statement, 2009.
(2) John Daly-Peoples, ‘Artist Rees conjures up sense of isolation’, National Business Review, 12 April 2002.
(3) John Daly-Peoples, ‘Southern view is full of foreboding.’ National Business Review, 14 May 1999
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