Oak Bay artist Gillian Redwood truly explores the Energetic Universe in her latest works.
“My focus has been over the last few years to look at the seen and unseen energies of people. Connecting the energies of universe and land, between people and within people,” she said. “This has come from my interest in the optical ideas of how we see; how we perceive things and how we perceive people.”
Energetic Universe at the Martin Batchelor Gallery is her second solo showing of acrylics based on looking at the physical form as energetic beings.
“I show the human figure in the paintings and I often paint them transparent so you can see what’s happening within,” Redwood says.
Over the last five years she developed a series of acrylic paintings with a focus on the human body, including Women in Myth & Legend and UnCommon Man which showed at the Batchelor Gallery in October 2013. Energetic Universe is a natural progression.
“This particular series is focused on relationships between friends and people,” the artist explains.
Redwood obtained her art and design degree at Cardiff College of Art in Wales, and the West of England College of Art, U.K. More recently she studied life drawing and painting at the St. Ives School of Painting, U.K. She spent the past 15 months creating each of the 12 large acrylic works, all done from drawings.
“It’s a real breakthrough for the way that I paint. It’s a bit more abstract than in the past. The way that I paint and the ideas that I have about these unseen energies have come to a very visual completion in this show,” Redwood said. “I”m very excited about it, it’s quite adventurous. Some of the paintings have gone into areas of perfection that I’m particularly interested in.”
Quantum physics and science inform her work, she says, allowing for a new experience and vision, a different way of viewing the world.
“So they’re like walking into another world, where instead of seeing things on the surface, we see the energetic components that make up what we see,” Redwood says.
Energetic Universe opens at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Martin Batchelor Gallery on Cormorant Street in Victoria and runs Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until March 5.
“For me the paintings are successful,” she says. “I’m excited about showing them to people.”
cvanreeuwyk@oak baynews.com