ELIZABETH REES

ELIZABETH REES Opens Sat 22nd August, 10am - 4pm, Artist will attend 22nd Aug - 16th Sept, 2009

Elizabeth Rees In Motion

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling St (03) 477 7727 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Preview 29th January from 5.30pm Artist talk 30th January 11.30am 30th January - 24th February 2010

1. ELIZABETH REES, Light Air (2009), oil on ca

anvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Light Air (2009) DETAIL VIEW 1

ELIZABETH REES, Silence (2009) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 608 x 608 x 23 mm 2

ELIZABETH REES, Silence (2009) DETAIL VIEW 2

ELIZABETH REES, Competition (2009) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 608 x 608 x 22 mm 3

ELIZABETH REES, Out of the Blue (2009) oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 760 x 760 x 22 mm 4

ELIZABETH REES, Competition (2009) DETAIL VIEW 3

ELIZABETH REES, Out of the Blue (2009) DETAIL VIEW 4

ELIZABETH REES, Around Again (2009) oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 650 x 752 x 22 mm 5

ELIZABETH REES, Light Turn (2009) oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 750 x 1000 x 36 mm 6

ELIZABETH REES, Around Again (2009) DETAIL VIEW 5

ELIZABETH REES, Light Turn (2009) DETAIL VIEW 6

ELIZABETH REES, Club Run (2009) oil on jute, stretcher (v x h x d): 455 x 603 x 36 mm 7

ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm I (2009) oil on jute, stretcher (v x h x d): 452 x 702 x 36 mm 8

ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm II (2009) oil on jute, stretcher (v x h x d): 452 x 702 x 36 mm 9

ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm II (2009) DETAIL VIEW 9

ELIZABETH REES, Fun Run (2009) DETAIL VIEW 10

10. ELIZABETH REES, Fun Run (2009), oil on c

canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Dawn Chorus (2009) DETAIL VIEW 11

11. ELIZABETH REES, Dawn Chorus (2009), oil on

n canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Twilight Team (2009) DETAIL VIEW 12

12. ELIZABETH REES, Twilight Team (2009), oil o

on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Surrender to the Sky (2009) DETAIL VIEW 13

13. ELIZABETH REES, Surrender to the Sky (2009), o

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Flow (2009) DETAIL VIEW 14

14. ELIZABETH REES, Flow (2009), oil on can

nvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES : In Motion : PRICELIST 1 ELIZABETH REES, Light Air (2009)

13,000

2 ELIZABETH REES, Silence (2009)

6,500

3 ELIZABETH REES, Competition (2009)

6,500

4 ELIZABETH REES, Out of the Blue (2009)

7,500

5 ELIZABETH REES, Around Again (2009)

7,000

6 ELIZABETH REES, Light Turn (2009)

9,000

7 ELIZABETH REES, Club Run (2009)

5,000

8 ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm I (2009)

5,500

9 ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm II (2009)

5,500

10 ELIZABETH REES, Fun Run (2009)

13,000

11 ELIZABETH REES, Dawn Chorus (2009)

13,000

12 ELIZABETH REES, Twilight Team (2009)

13,000

13 ELIZABETH REES, Surrender to the Sky (2009)

13,000

14 ELIZABETH REES, Flow (2009)

13,000

Momentum and passage are ever-present in Elizabeth Rees’ new body of work. Time is frozen as figures captured ‘In Motion’ give a real sense of bodies moving through the landscape. As if part of a cinematic film strip, dark human shapes move forward, but where are they going to or what are they running from? Rees explores mood, energy, a physical connection to our surrounding environment and the onwards determination of the journey we all experience in our daily life.

From dynamic, expressive brush strokes that are dragged and twisted across the painting surface to soft, smudgy and delicate application, Rees masterfully uses paint. ‘Light Air’ explores the momentum of forward movement, with expressive horizontal brush work guiding ones eye from left to right.

Rees’ palette has broadened, and candescent reds and oranges give an appearance of glowing light. ‘Fun Run’ addresses the energy and power of the moving body and the restless nature of the mind. Figures emanate light as if fuelled by fire, driving forward and onward.

‘Surrender to the Sky’ shows a figure hurtling through reddish early morning or late evening skies while the comfort in others is expressed in ‘Twilight Team’ as a group of figures move towards the darkening night.

Rees’ feminine and familiar peaches and creams are contrasted against darkened bodies.

There is a softness and vulnerability to these works. A solitary figure is pictured in ‘Silence’ and a sense of peace and meditation is explored through the composition. The smudgy and smoky application in ‘Flow’ shows a misty landscape, where a lone figure passes towards an unknown destination bathed in a soothing light.

Cropped figures and backgrounds allude to what lies beyond. What is out there in the brooding darkness of the unknown? A fragment of time; we are only seeing a part, a snapshot of the greater whole.

Rees’ paintings are enigmatic. From the brooding mood-scapes, to the face-less figures, there is a quality of mystery and ambiguity to the work. As with life, each snapshot can be interpreted and experienced in a different way, and the onward journey of discovery is what makes us human.

ELIZABETH REES b. 1959, lives Auckland

Idyll (2008)

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

Elizabeth Rees 2010 CV P a g e |1

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

ELIZABETH REES b. 1959, lives Auckland EDUCATION 1976 1977

Preliminary Diploma of Fine Arts, Queen Elizabeth College Palmerston North Diploma of Fine Arts (Painting Major), University of Canterbury, Christchurch

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2000 1999 1998 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1989,90,91

In Motion Rapture Second Sequence Sequence Selected Paintings Mood & Memory Recent Paintings Figure and Landscape Traffic Intersection Painted Journey Momentum Low Light Here and Now Special Effects Second Stage Small Stage Recent Paintings Elizabeth Rees

Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries auckland Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries queenstown milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries auckland Milford Galleries Dunedin Peter Muir Petford Gallery Milford Galleries Dunedin Chiaroscuro Gallery Chiaroscuro Gallery Chiaroscuro Gallery Chiaroscuro Gallery Auckland Society of Arts

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2009 2007

2006 2005 2004

2003 2002

2001 2000 1999 1998 1997

Southern Landscape Take 5 Masterworks Moments Looking South Essence Location South The Southern Landscape The Southern Landscape Transit of Venus Transit of Venus Notable Works Is As Landscape As Metaphor Chosen Portrait Exhibition The Cloak: A Group exhibition PNGHS Te Manawa Winter Exhibition Rees/ Cleverley/ Binding Artists Chairs Looking South A Special Place New Zealand Now The Subject of Object New Zealand Real

Elizabeth Rees 2010 CV P a g e |2

milford galleries queenstown MG, Auckland milford galleries queenstown milford galleries auckland Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries auckland milford galleries queenstown Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries queenstown milford galleries Auckland milford galleries queenstown milford galleries queenstown Milford Galleries Dunedin milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland New Zealand Ballet Exhibition, Parnell Cathedral milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland milford galleries auckland Milford Galleries Dunedin Warwick Henderson Galleries Warwick Henderson Galleries Milford Galleries Dunedin Milford Galleries Dunedin

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1996 1995 1994 1993 1992

Buy By Tender Aids Foundation Modern Myth Portray Portrait Chiaroscuro Show

Chiaroscuro Gallery Chiaroscuro Gallery Chiaroscuro Gallery Morgan LeFay Gallery Chiaroscuro Gallery

AWARDS 1989

Birkenhead Art Award (Merit)

COLLECTIONS Kensington Swan Private collections within New Zealand and internationally including a major private collection in the USA

SELECTED ARTICLES (as attached) 1999 1994 1994

Kerr, Elizabeth J, ‘Momentum: New Work by Elizabeth Rees’, Art New Zealand, issue 93, Summer, 1999/2000 Unger, Pat, ‘The Theatre of Disintegration: The Paintings of Elizabeth Rees’, Art New Zealand, issue 73, Summer, 1994/95 Mannion, Robert, ‘Painting a Bright Future’, The Dominion, Saturday October 22, 1994

Light Air (2009)

Elizabeth Rees 2010 CV P a g e |3

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz