Dragica Carlin’s work has become widely known for her use of a particular visual leitmotif around which her creative ethos orientates: the swirl. Working in a wide spectrum of colours against shimmering, monochromatic backgrounds, she has instantiated the swirl as an all-encompassing reference point.
The swirl offers a record of the artist’s movement across the canvas- guiding contrasting tones of wet oil paint into tense collisions before dissipating into feathered serifs The swirls hold a graphic clarity akin to that of cursive penmanship- intuitive and deeply personal- whilst requiring tremendous physical exertion when rendered on a heroic scale The swirls hold an immediacy, often being painted in a single, confident action, that invites chance and serendipity whilst requiring focused mental preparation.
Carlin likens her time in the studio to an experiment, embarking not with a plan but with the intention to discover the artwork as she touches paint to canvas Her response to the physicality of the paint renders itself apparent in the cascading gestural ribbons that appear as if caught in suspended animation Ravines of light and dark tones create the illusion of multiple light sources shining over and through the swirls, directing our attention to retrace the choreography of the artist’s brush and discover a new vista with each look.
Dragica Carlin was a recipient of the Abbey Painting Award which led to an artist’s residency and fellowship at the British School in Rome She has exhibited in London, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Melbourne and her work is held in numerous private collections. Carlin is regularly commissioned to produce large-scale, site-specific installations and artworks for private collections
Two Swirls, Series 8
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 97 x 97 cm £7,000
Three Swirls, Series 3
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 120 x 180 cm £12,500
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 120 x 100 cm £8,000
Swirls of Constant Motion, Series 10
Restructuring Swirls, Series 3
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 115 cm diameter £9,500 (framed) Enquire
Swirl, Series 3
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 100 cm £7,000 SOLD
Blue
Two Swirls, Series 7
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 97 x 97 cm £7,000 SOLD
Two White Swirls, Series 3
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 150 x 120 cm £10,000
Restructuring Swirls, Series 2
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 115 cm diameter £9,500 (framed)
Two
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 168 x 132 cm £10,500
Swirls Figure
One White Swirl
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 150 x 120 cm £10,000
One Swirl, Series 8
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 100 cm £7,000
Two Swirls, Series 7
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 84 x 112 cm £7,000
Two White Blue Swirls
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 120 x 190 cm £12,500
Three Swirls, Series 2
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 150 x 180 cm £14,000
“Painting for me is a continuous conversation with the outside world This dialogue is only possible while I am in the studio My thoughts are directed by the physicality of paint The paintings emerge out of the intensity of colours and pigments that I use and their thickness, translucency, lightness and darkness My work is deeply visceral I am driven by what paint can do and by what I can do with paint
Mixing the paint is intuitive In my work, it is not possible to predict how colours will relate to one anothersometimes the most extreme hues balance with the movement of my brush and at other times they shout at each other. My process is intense. It requires an equilibrium of my physical togetherness, independence in my mind and an openness in my soul
The swirls hold a symbolic connotation - there is a universal quality to them and as such, they are somewhat timeless and formless. They come and go, captivating our perceptions of them even when they are motionless.
To me they reflect the essence of being Sometimes the swirls are constructed in layers and the layering continues until the painting reaches a point where it is impossible to understand how they have been painted. Sometimes the swirls manifest the suggestion that they are a smaller section of a larger form, which exists outside of the picture plane; they keep overlapping until the entire surface begins to resonate with energy.
In each painting, I capture a little bit of our essence. I see swirls as a part of an ultimately inconceivable world and when represented in a picture, they convey this mystery all the more powerfully In many ways, it seems that the energy of our being is the main inspiration for my work, and it is that very energy that I am continuously painting ”
- Dragica Carlin
Dragica Carlin’s new collection of works in oil are available for purchase on receipt of this catalogue.
To enquire about reserving or acquiring any of the artworks, please call the gallery on 020 7935 1114 or email info@gloucesterroom.com.
Prices are quoted inclusive of VAT (UK Sales Tax).
For information about Net Export prices, please contact the gallery.
