Kathryn Ryan
Embrace, 2021
charcoal on paper
107 x 67.5cm

Artist statement

Embrace alludes to the extraordinary beauty in nature, intimate details invite us to look within and at our surroundings. Intricate, detailed micro-views from the natural world are explored in depth with layered, tonal and observational charcoal drawing. Inviting closer inspection, yet also seen from afar, navigating textures, strengths, fragilities, light and shadow, weaving an intricate mystery which is inviting and unravelling.

Exploring co-existing opposites: strength and fragility, the intimate and distant, fleeting and solid, sensitively navigating what to reveal and conceal, played out with the treatment of shadow and light, which is simultaneously bold and subtle, precise and ambiguous. 

Artist bio

Kathryn’s practice delves deep into the personal and emotive influences of nature, our sense of place and connection to the natural world. Inviting us on a journey, exploring light, mood, what is tangible and intangible, sensitively navigating what to reveal and conceal. Her farm upbringing in Southwest Victoria, witnessing changing weather, seasons and layout of the land has had a lasting impact on Kathryn’s practice. After many years lived in Melbourne, ten years as an expat in the UAE: Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Kathryn has now returned to the landscapes of her youth, with her studio based in Warrnambool.

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