Chloë Steele at Collyer Bristow Gallery
Steele’s work has been occupied for the last few years with the interrogation of landscape as a means by which to articulate her own personal iconography. Her practice consistently utilises a number of different media but rarely in combination. This individual focus on each medium, one at a time, allows Steele to comprehend the essentials of the subject with additional clarity. Sculpture, printmaking, installation, photography, the written word and particularly drawing have been independently and extensively used in this drive towards resolution. The intellectual curiosity that underpins Steele’s work is evident in the fluidity with which she travels between media, allowing dominance of one media over another only for so long before re-appropriating earlier imagery in order to continue the exploration.
Steele’s work has been occupied for the last few years with the interrogation of landscape as a means by which to articulate her own personal iconography. Her practice consistently utilises a number of different media but rarely in combination. This individual focus on each medium, one at a time, allows Steele to comprehend the essentials of the subject with additional clarity. Sculpture, printmaking, installation, photography, the written word and particularly drawing have been independently and extensively used in this drive towards resolution. The intellectual curiosity that underpins Steele’s work is evident in the fluidity with which she travels between media, allowing dominance of one media over another only for so long before re-appropriating earlier imagery in order to continue the exploration.
The
work operates on a number of levels. One is
immediately drawn to the quality of Steele's
draughtsmanship – in all media. The subject
matter is seductive. Seemingly hard rock formations
are given a heightened , languid sensuality simply
through Steele's use of graphite pencil. Vivacious
painted works, derived ostensibly from foliage and
flora are simplified to their essence – their
shape, their coloration. Soft recumbent sculptures,
visually referencing flint and stone that is
heavy and idle with rest yet hard and unmalleable
to the touch, play also with the language of the
human body. It is through this psychological and
physical deconstruction and reassembling process
that Steele seeks to realise a new multipartite
whole. The execution of her work, the solitary and
tender forms and bombastic and colourful markmaking
reflects a deeply personal process.
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