Bloom

Julie Battisti's reason to focus on flowers for her exhibition; Bloom, is explained - "almost a year ago I caught myself staring at the way a petal was catching the sunlight as it streamed in from a window. In that moment I realised I had been so disconnected from observance of these 'little things' for years. I realised this had been a skill, a habit, that I had so quickly abandoned when life got busy. I was motivated to begin exploring this series on dramatically lit flowers. By creating large scale realistic works, which abnormally enlarge the flowers, I was able to deliberately focus on every detail making it a feature to take pains over, really slowing the vision down. This unnatural inflated view has also allowed me to enjoy experimenting with light and texture across various forms."

Her preferred medium is oil allowing her to build layers of paint and capture the buttery, translucent nature of the petals. Her images are luscious, evocative and linger on the eye.

Battisti has experimented with texture and light and enjoyed painting subjects in larger than life scale in her previous work. Battiti says "my previous two exhibitions focused on sensuality and luxury, which has been a theme I have continued to explore during the creation of this collection: the luxury of having beautiful flowers in my home and studio has caused me to reflect on how precious it is that we are able to have such things in our daily lives, but also to consider when the day might come when the complex systems "“ both natural and socioeconomic "“ necessary for a peony or a freesia to be available at a local florist will be a forgotten luxury.

Opening Drinks: Saturday 19 November, 2 to 4pm