RSA Scottish Art
Doorway - Trevelez
 | Artist: Barbara Rae |
| Title: Doorway - Trevelez | |
| Year: c. 1992 | |
| Medium: mixed media on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © the artist | |
| Description: Barbara Rae's work has landscape at its heart, and she has travelled world-wide to explore new material.The village of Trevelez, situated in the Sierra Nevada mountains of southern Spain, is the inspiration for this painting. It is a densely built-up collage of elements, which the artist has then over-painted to create an intensely rich surface, splashed with gold. The painting erupts with bold, intense colours inspired by the heat and the rustic architecture of this region. Swirling brush strokes and deep scratches give the work a heavily textured quality. The heavy tonal balance is offset with occasional glances of white, but overall the feel is dark and rich.The composition is pleasingly off-centre. The doorway is a vertical pillar of black enclosed by uneven red sections of a wall. Circles, crosses and small rectangles break up the surfaces, and glimpses of thin saplings interrupt the more regular shapes. The composition draws the eye towards a few key elements such as the red crosses, the orange circles and the suggestion of a zigzag near the top. This is an abstract representation of a real place. Rae has chosen to leave out elements which could be distractingly realistic, and prefers the viewer to enjoy the sensual colours and patches of gold as part of an arrangement rather than recognisable architectural features.The mood of this painting is quite personal to the viewer. It is both joyful and energetic and dark and sombre in its execution. You could have different feelings about this painting depending on your own frame of mind at the time. Sometimes it is difficult for an artist to let go of their own idea of what a painting means. How would you feel if a viewer looked at your work and reached a different interpretation from the one you put into your work? Do you feel it is possible to control a viewer's reaction to your work? | |
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