Charted Ground: Barbara Macfarlane, NYC

3 January - 4 February 2018

Overview

Charted Ground is a solo exhibition of new paintings by British artist Barbara Macfarlane.

Macfarlane's abstracted works take their form and subject matter from maps - in this case, maps of London, New York, Paris and Venice - and make of their familiar shapes something startling and new.

Not simply just about the city plans they depict, her creations are about juxtaposition of colour, mark-making and balance. In short, they are paintings rather than maps.

Working on large sheets of handmade Khadi rag paper and on stretched linen, Macfarlane draws the structures and grids of the maps freehand in ink using a stick instead of a brush, resulting in more gestural, less controlled mark-making. She then adds colour in high pigment oil paint.

"My method of working has always remained the same. First I draw with ink using a stick. This gives the painting energy as the marks are drawn fast and the type of mark cannot be totally controlled. The ink lines cannot be changed once they are drawn. I use a limited number of colors, sometimes only two or three in each painting. I see my paintings as minimal statements, which represent elements that I want to record," says Macfarlane.