Thu 9 Feb 2023 to Sat 11 Mar 2023
21 Cork Street, W1S 3LZ Liza Giles: The Shape of Things
Tue-Sat 11am-6pm
Artist: Liza Giles
Flowers Gallery presents an exhibition by British artist Liza Giles, her first solo presentation at the gallery.
Acrylic on raw canvas
2000 × 1040 mm
104 x 200 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on raw linen
1600 × 900 mm
90 x 160 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on raw canvas
1400 × 1050 mm
105 x 140 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on canvas
2500 × 1100 mm
110 x 250 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on canvas
2750 × 1200 mm
120 x 275 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on raw canvas
1900 × 1050 mm
105 x 190 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on raw canvas
1550 × 840 mm
84 x 155 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on raw canvas
1240 × 640 mm
64 x 124 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Acrylic on raw canvas
1400 × 950 mm
95 x 140 cm
© Liza Giles. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
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Giles’ large-scale abstract paintings combine a hard-edge approach to line and composition with intuitive mark-making, incorporating expressive gestures amid rigorous formal structures.
Her painting style developed from making smaller collages using found scraps and painted cut-outs. The monumental canvases seen in this exhibition begin with elemental forms that emerged from these collages, transforming the interplay of positive and negative forms through scale and painterly means of expression. At times appearing architectural, the paintings suggest the immensity and solidity of the urban skyline, while harmonious earth tones and feathered edges integrate a sense of light and space.
Often working flat to control the flow of acrylic paint, Giles works by instinct, moving and re-arranging shapes and panels until new intersecting forms emerge. In this way, the paintings remain in flux throughout their making as well as retaining the palpable edge of the initial collage ‘cut’. The muscular swathes of paint are intersected by the internal boundaries of the individual canvas panels, creating borders and channels that splice through the expressive drips and splashes.
Giles says. “My works are driven by an impetus to ‘switch off’ and re-engage with our instinct. I want my art to speak honestly to its observer in a pure and simple way. My work is essentially about how it makes you feel.”