HENRIETTA DUBREY

All images are copyrighted © by Henrietta Dubrey and may not be used without her consent.

Front cover: Graduate oil on canvas105 x 155 cm

Exhibition debuts at AAF Battersea, London.10-13 March 2016Contact the gallery for tickets

Private View Saturday 19 March 3-5pm, Bath.

RSVP for the private view toenquiries@edgarmodern.com

Edgar Modern Bartlett Street Bath BA1 2EE01225 443746 / 07940 597757

Henrietta DubreyAbstract

Take Awayoil on canvas35 x 26 cm

Just like I’d rather be painting than writing about painting, abstract painting in particular allows a certain freedom of thought, literally “abstracted ideas”, which, through the medium of paint, gesture, colour, line and form, allow me the painter, and the viewer, to interpret a composition on many different levels, leading to a discourse and often something other, or becoming more than the sum of its parts. Like a portrait painted under intense scrutiny, subtleties of tone set a scene; the chaotic and accidental nature of mark making add an unknown excitement to the work.

‘Abstract’ was initially conceived having painted ‘Mural’, ‘Mur’, and ‘Pollination’ for the London Art Fair in January 16. The uncompromising, subconscious gestural marks creating narratives of their own. Exploring this and the use of paint I am rediscovering a freedom of language often lost in the more descriptive figurative paintings.

Henrietta Dubrey, 2016.

Chamois Blueoil on canvas130 x 105 cm

Muroil on canvas61 x 43 cm

Igniteoil on canvas43 x 31 cm

Muraloil on canvas161 x 130 cm

Thrilloil on canvas70 x 55 cm

Obscured Figureoil on canvas110 x 80 cm

El Doradooil on canvas161 x 130 cm

Atlantic Watchoil on canvas110 x 80 cm

Open Spaceoil on canvas130 x 105 cm

Abstractoil on canvas130 x 105 cm

Championoil on canvas59 x 46 cm

Bloomsburyoil on canvas130 x 105 cm

Autumn Brown, Burnt Nortonoil on canvas135 x 100 cm

Vermillion Pooloil on canvas110 x 80 cm

Sea Interludeoil on canvas62 x 79 cm

Masculinoil on canvas60 x 76 cm

Maraisoil on canvas130 x 105 cm

Graduateoil on canvas105 x 155 cm

Regattaoil on canvas75 x 50 cm

Figureoil on canvas32 x 21 cm

Skandioil on canvas67 x 83 cm

Scorchedoil on canvas23 x 18 cm

Far Flungoil on canvas118 x 94 cm

Huboil on canvas18 x 15 cm

Lectureoil on canvas39 x 32 cm

Selected Solo Exhibitions : 2000 to Present

2015 5 x 3 Edgar Modern, Bath

2014 Abstraction – New paintings from Cornwall, Chapel Place Gallery, Tunbridge Wells

Interim: A Virtual Exhibition, Edgar Modern, Bath

2013 Fifteen New Paintings, Edgar Modern, Bath

2012 Developing Horizons, Edgar Modern, Bath

2011 Henrietta Dubrey at Skandium, London

From Abstraction… Edgar Modern, Bath

2007 Colour to White, Belgrave Gallery, St Ives

Lynne Strover Gallery, Fen Ditton, Cambridge

2005 Paintings, Belgrave Gallery, St Ives Cornwall

2004 New Work, Belgrave Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall

2003 Lynne Strover Gallery, Fen Ditton, Cambridge

2002 Recent Paintings Belgrave, Gallery St Ives, Cornwall

2001 Star Gallery, Lewes, East Sussex

Collections

De Beers, LondonThe Old Bank Hotel, OxfordTwofour GroupPrivate collections in the UK and Europe

Bibliography

White Paintings, Artist’s self-published monograph 2007St Ives 1975-2005, Art Colony in Transition by Peter Davies 2007Artists in Britain Since 1945, David Buckman Art Dictionaries Ltd 2006

Interview with Henrietta Dubrey

What does the title of this exhibition, 'Abstract', mean to you?

Abstract feels like the ultimate freedom; permission to paint without reserve. However, I like what Picasso said, "There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterwards you can remove all traces of reality."And I find this is the case. For me, my abstract work always stems from something. Although I feel free when painting abstract work, I do not feel they are what I would call purely abstract, i.e. purely emphasising colour, line or with reference to the formal relationships between shapes, like a mathematical formula. They demand of me some initial influence, some idea I must capture in paint.The formal title of this exhibition 'Abstract' has given me the opportunity to concentrate on a series of gestural, nonfigurative, immediate response paintings, which have come about as a direct influence from current circumstances and from what I have been reading and looking at. Therefore each painting results in having a story to tell, a history and a mood to convey.

How would you describe the tone of this exhibition?

I sometimes feel as though my abstract paintings are more serious than my figurative pieces. They feel very "me" and over the years I have developed a language of mark making that, like handwriting, has its own character and eloquence, helping me to describe in paint that which comes from within or from one’s subconscious. Some of the paintings in this exhibition are economic in their language as in ‘Open Space’, and this is an attempt at clarity, reducing description to its simplest form. Others have a more romantic or poetic nature, deriving from poetry or quotes. 'Autumn Brown, Burnt Norton' was a title that came subsequent to the completion of the painting, and was inspired by reading TS Eliot's Four Quartets. Some of the paintings are more wildly gestural with drips and splatters adding energy to the canvas, as in 'Mural'.

Why do you choose to express your ideas through painting?

"If you can talk about it, why paint it?" (Francis Bacon)If I cannot work, paint, think, be free, I am not happy. Painting seems the most natural form of communication to me. I have drawn and painted for as long as I can remember. I feel very fortunate that I have always known that I wanted to be a painter and artist. From a very young age I was encouraged to be freely expressive and was equally encouraged when people made favourable comments. One can lose oneself in one's work, and in that respect it does not feel like work. It is so rewarding when one creates a new, original thing and, as Robert Motherwell said, "What could be more interesting, or in the end, more ecstatic, than in those rare moments when you see another person look at something you've made, and realise that they got it exactly, that your heart jumped to their heart with nothing in between.”

Are there paintings you feel particularly connected to or that you see as the key pieces in the exhibition?

'Mural' is a definite favourite. It is one of those magical paintings in which a certain alchemy is born in its palette, composition and its overall lyricism.The concept of this exhibition initially came about having painted 'Mural', 'Mur' and 'Pollination' for the London Art Fair in January 2016; the uncompromising, subconscious gestural marks creating narratives of their own. Exploring this and the use of paint, I am rediscovering a freedom of language often lost in the more descriptive figurative paintings. 'Obscured Figure' with its similar colouration veers towards this more descriptive quality, and yet the marks are equally abstract in feel. I am trying to be economic in what I say, all the while conveying an overall picture.The painting titled 'Abstract’ holds a lot of the elements that attract me to this genre, a pared down palette of reds and whites intersected by drawn black lines.As a whole it is interesting for me to see how the body of works connect and work off each other. Certain elements carry over from one painting to another creating a dialogue and an overall character.

How would you describe your creative process? More often than not I find the creative process a challenge, albeit a welcome one. There seem to be so many ideas which bubble and simmer, which either pop and are gone or will reappear at the most unexpected moment. I find I am often left waiting for that moment, for my muse to appear, for a door to open. I then need to be ready to act, ready to translate the ideas on to canvas quickly.From then on the process can be quite quick if all goes well. Once I am in the swing of things paintings can almost paint themselves. This is a good day.In practical terms the process begins with decisions about the size of the stretcher, stretching and preparation of the canvas. I find my ideas for each composition often come about at this stage. When I am banging in the staples, sat on the studio floor, it always takes me back to being a young child, and the pleasure of spending hours sat beneath the kitchen table as my mother busied herself with cooking and household chores, my wooden hammer pushing the pegs into my favourite hammer peg toy. This memory sets my mind alight with memories and my ideas can begin to flow. I spend a lot of time looking at art books, mainly about painters and photographers, reading magazines and watching films. Whilst doing this I will always have a sketchbook at hand and will make notes, sketches and cut out articles which I will stick in my notebook so that I can reflect on what is influencing my creative thoughts. There is such a plethora of visual stimulation and information in these books and on the internet that one finds oneself almost overstimulated. Therefore it is very nice to sometimes sit quietly in the studio with no radio and no music, and just let the inspiration flow. This is always the time when the best paintings are created. The ones that are semi automatic, the ones that take you by surprise, and inspire you to carry on and paint another.

Were there any particular inspirations that influenced this body of work?

I have been looking at many different artists this last year. Tastes change and new influences emerge. The old favourites will never be far away, especially the artists from the mid generation St Ives group, who form an integral part of why I have chosen to live and work in West Penwith.Roger Hilton, Terry Frost, Peter Lanyon, Brian Wynter and Sandra Blow are my old flames. To this vanguard I have added Ellsworth Kelly, Raoul de Keyser, Joan Mitchell, Luc Tuymans, Louise Bourgeois, Chantal Joffe, Cecily Brown and Marlene Dumas. The list goes on. All these artists and their writings have brought to me some influence or idea which has fed into my painting practice.Favourite exhibitions included Raoul de Keyser at David Zwirners and Caro, Hoyland and Noland at Pace Gallery. De Keyser’s subtle, evocative and intuitive paintings struck a deep resonance with me. Full of illusion and space, his basic shapes remain elusive yet eloquent. I like them because they demand contemplation.

February 2016

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