Drift

Jill Hartman

3 to 27 May

The complimentary opposition of strength and fragility and the visual and tactile qualities of her subject matter are eloquently expressed in Hartman’s paintings. Her feathers explode out of the canvases, at once vibrant and reflective, enhanced by subtle nuances of colour and tone.

Previously, Hartman’s feathers have symbolised the transitory quality of life and this idea, similar to the traditional genre of the vanitas, is still apparent. Hartman is inspired by considerations of faith and the human condition, transcendence and transformation.

Working in oils Hartman’s paintings have a sensuality which communicates the softness and lightness of a single feather and the density of a swirling mass. The downward drifting and upward lifting, a constant counterpoise between the physical and the metaphysical.