Petra Reece Lustre

I like working with soft and muted colours, allowing the lustre and subtlety of the material to dominate ,rather than any bright colours. One fabric was specially imported: the grey and white linen in the painting called, ‘Still Life with Broken Bowl’. Alongside this expensive woven linen, I have placed an old and faded pillowslip, the folds of which have a surprising sensuousness.

Arranging the fabrics and various objects can take many hours and the possibilities are of course, endless. The use of light (direction and intensity), which gives my work structure and weight, is very important. The surface of a painting is equally important: a painterly surface showing brush marks juxtaposed with smooth passages gives harmony.

All the works in this exhibition are made with a limited palette of just four colours; my aim with this is to impart a mood of quiet tranquillity.

Petra Reece, May 2011

Petra Reece has been practising as a professional artist since the late 1980s, having participated in over 40 exhibitions. She has been a recipient of a number of art prizes, including having been a finalist on consecutive occasions in the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award. Born in Zaandam, Holland, and arriving in Australia in 1952, her country of origin’s art history remains a permanent marker, within her art practice.

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