LOOKING THROUGH - CHARLIE WELLS

Marsden Gallery
20 August – 18 September 2022

Launch: Saturday, 20 August 2022, 2-4pm

LOOKING THROUGH is a solo exhibition by Charlie Wells that showcases the results of her exploration into abstracted landscape painting. This solo exhibition is the outcome of winning the Liverpool Art Society’s Scholarship Award in 2020.

“My paintings are an emotional response to the outback and the bushland around me where I live…bright, flickering light changes all around, making endless different shapes and colours with the tree trunks and leaves…I hope you allow your imagination and emotions to take over as you contemplate these works.” – Charlie Wells, 2022

The Liverpool Art Society’s Scholarship Award is proudly sponsored by Liverpool City Council and supported by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre as part of the Liverpool Art Society’s annual Exhibitions and Prizes. The winning artist receives $1,500.00 to go towards an exhibition at the Centre, along with support from CPAC staff including from curatorial and marketing teams. The Liverpool Arts Society’s annual exhibition is displayed at the same time as the scholarship winner exhibition. Click here to learn more about the upcoming LAS exhibition for 2022!

Charlie Wells, Looking Through, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 95 x 95 cm.

ARTIST STATEMENT

"LOOKING THROUGH is an exhibition that showcases the results of my exploration into abstracted landscape painting. Winning the Liverpool Art Society’s Scholarship Award for my work The Sunlit Track in 2020 has given me the impetus and confidence to concentrate on painting and set me on a new journey. I feel comfortable pursuing my art without needing to be so figurative.

Elisabeth Cummings and Idris Murphy inspire and motivate me. I feel their way of working is as much about mark making as about landscape.

My paintings are an emotional response to the outback and the bushland around me where I live. On sunny days the bright, flickering light changes all around, making endless different shapes and colours with the tree trunks and leaves. From time to time I come I come to a conundrum of what the painting needs next, and I need to go back to the canvas on the following day. This usually allows me to see it with a fresh eye and take it from there.

I need to work in isolation. Every day I approach my work with trepidation.  Each day it is like dipping my foot in cold water before plunging in, and often it is difficult to keep the momentum going with disruptions of everyday life.

I hope you allow your imagination and emotions to take over as you contemplate these works."

- Charlie Wells, 2022