A Selection of Exhibited Paintings
‘Illuminations’ are inspired by the resonance and beauty of colour. While meditating on community life, the weaving in and out of past and present, Gabriella takes inspiration from the forms found in the human and the animal body. The application of paint on a canvas creates an opportunity to explore the refinement of texture and the mix of colour. From there the very fine subtitles that lie between lightness and darkness emerge.
What has transpired from this process is a body of work with a luminescent quality.
‘As I look at my paintings I am reminded of times when I was a child looking at stained glass windows in a church, observing what was directly in front of me and imagining my own stories told in the language of colour.’
What has transpired from this process is a body of work with a luminescent quality.
‘As I look at my paintings I am reminded of times when I was a child looking at stained glass windows in a church, observing what was directly in front of me and imagining my own stories told in the language of colour.’
'The Colour of the Wind', a body of 27 paintings completed in 2008
The Colour of the Wind is an exhibition of new paintings by Gabriella Eviston, which was stimulated by the inspiration of children, and her love of nature. Gabriella originally from Thurles has recently returned to live in Holycross. The title of the exhibition was inspired by a young girl Maeve who ‘looked up at me one day while we were walking by the river, observing the wind blowing in the trees, and said Gabriella I love the colour of the wind.’ This statement in all its innocent wisdom resonated with me.
In my paintings I reflect the innermost images of the wind. I am reminded of the beauty of the wind, the very fine subtleties of energy present in nature, the things children see and that adults cannot see, the intricacy of colours, the atmosphere they produce to the naked eye, the light they radiate, the luminescence, the things we cannot see that are brought forward in the colour of the wind.
In my paintings I reflect the innermost images of the wind. I am reminded of the beauty of the wind, the very fine subtleties of energy present in nature, the things children see and that adults cannot see, the intricacy of colours, the atmosphere they produce to the naked eye, the light they radiate, the luminescence, the things we cannot see that are brought forward in the colour of the wind.
'Expanding Rapture', a body of 9 large paintings 2005
Expanding Rapture evolved from becoming rooted as a tree is rooted, from the stillness of being in nature, from a sense of belonging. . The work process traveled through the journeying of meditation and interacting with the paintings in a spontaneous way. The movement starts from the rooted earth and travels upward into the joyous rapture of transportation / elevation.
'900+9', a body of 999 paintings completed in 2004
990 + 9 is an exploration of the act of repetition.
The constant repetition of 999 pieces of oil on canvas paintings insists that the work will change as all things change. The relentlessness of repetition, the rhythm of repetition, the possibilities of repetition, the changes that occur in the process of repetition… this is where beauty resides.
The constant repetition of 999 pieces of oil on canvas paintings insists that the work will change as all things change. The relentlessness of repetition, the rhythm of repetition, the possibilities of repetition, the changes that occur in the process of repetition… this is where beauty resides.
'The Withheld', a body of 18 large paintings completed in 2003.
‘It would be so much easier to write about my work if it was a narrative, but it is not. It is about human experiences, that of the unspoken. An area that exists where there are no words. I use the female figure as a metaphor to represent those words and thoughts that are withheld as a result of the protocols of life. What we choose to show and what remains intact is at the core of this body of work. I choose to draw with paint because there is something about this childlike quality that remains with us as adults, and I like to be reminded of that.’
'Diametrics', a body of 27 paintings completed in 2002.
Here the artist is interested in the friction of duality, where polarities create contradictions in the work. She communicates this through the tension that exists between these polarities. Her use of primary and subtle colour depicts the gesture and movement that also exists within these polarities.
Her deliberate decision making in the use of colours of extreme yellows, fiery oranges, deep purples, the subtle delicate pinks, turquoise, and blues is both adventurous and evocative.
Her deliberate decision making in the use of colours of extreme yellows, fiery oranges, deep purples, the subtle delicate pinks, turquoise, and blues is both adventurous and evocative.