Touch: Holly Zandbergen

Touch is an exhibition of thirteen new paintings by New Zealand-based artist, Holly Zandbergen, that explore colour and mark-making through alternating subjects of mountains and flowers.

Using an impasto application of paint, variables such as speed, force and motion activate endless possibilities within each mark to represent the strong and opposing forms of mountains and the fragility and impermanence of flowers.

‘No matter which subject I am painting, I am still interested in the idea of how form exists in space, how this can be experimented with through paint application and how colour can create a sensory experience for the viewer.’

– Holly Zandbergen

Although naturalistic in their subject matter, the paintings also cross over into moments of abstraction. Up close, the eye sees an array of colour and a multitude of painted layers, but when moving back, the individual marks consolidate into a recognisable form. Zandbergen’s trust in instinct and intuition has become a driving force of the series as a whole and has allowed her to take a playful approach to painting.

In 2015 Holly Zandbergen was selected for the Prudential Best Young Artist Award at the National Open Art Competition at London's Royal College of Art. She was also the winner of the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin, New Zealand. This is Zandbergen’s second solo exhibition at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery.