Terri Brooks              
Found Marks                    
11 - 29 September 2007                    
Exploring the physicality of paint and surface textures, the latest body of works, Found Marks, continues Terri Brook’s formal investigation of natural mark making. With a leanness of technique and an innate feeling for surface textures Brooks utilises her materials to produce rich and complex works that speak of creating art out of something humble and ordinary. Following a lineage of artists attracted to marks in nature - including Whistler, Pollock, Tuckson and Mondrian, ‘ a tradition equating marks in nature and marks made by an artist which goes back to Leonardo and his blotchy wall.’1

Extending beyond the pure zones of white and black for which Brooks is most notable, Found Marks incorporates hues of red and yellow to an already deeply layered palette.
Many of her new works incorporate what the artist refers to as ‘paper blocks’ – a compressed paper support comprising newspaper layers – formed and cured to a hard block. This new element directly refers to Tony Tuckson’s early Newspaper paintings, while further suggesting the artist’s interest in the concept of ‘making do’. With a corrigated surface and ‘fat’ materiality, paint is allowed to pool and drawn lines navigate undulating terrains. These works also take on the physicality of the objects from which Brooks draws her inspiration – such as weathered corrugated iron walls or decaying road surfaces. With marks that are bold and honest and which obviously relish gesture, this concern takes precedence as the scale of Brook’s works increases.

Terri Brooks has had numerous solo shows since 1989 and has been selected as a finalist in the Fleurieu Art Prize, and the Alice Prize. She has been awarded BP Acquisitive Awards, an Australia Council Grant and the Pat Corrigan Artists Grant. Her work is in the Albert Tucker Collection, Macquarie Bank, Westpac Bank, many other corporate collections, as well as numerous private collections in Australia, the United States, the Netherlands and England.

(Footnotes)
1 Auping.Michael, Elderfield. John, & Sontag. Susan, (1995). Howard Hodgkin paintings, The Fort
Worth Art Association. Hodgkin letter. Page 75,76.

 
          
     
Dots and Lines 2007
oil, enamel and
pencil on canvas
153 x 122cm
Half Black 2007
oil and enamel
on canvas
41 x 30cm
Black Shape 2007
oil, enamel on paper block
40 x 30cm
Striped base
41x31cm
oil and enamel on canvas
 Five Black Dots 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on canvas
41 x 31cm

 
          
    
Rose Madder 2007
oil, enamel and pencil
on paper block
40 x 30cm
Striped Edges 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on canvas
41 x 31cm
White Spot 2007
oil, enamel and pencil
on paper block
41 x 31cm
Yellow Corner
oil and enamel on paper block
40x30cm
 Ochre Stripe 2007
oil, enamel on canvas
41 x 31cm
$990
         
     
Red and Yellow verticals 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on paper block
40 x 30cm
Yellow & White 2007
oil, enamel on canvas
41 x 31cm
Buried Black Stripes 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on paper block
40 x 30cm
White Drawing 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on paper block
40 x 30cm
Barbed 2007
oil and enamel on paper block with wire
40 x 30cm
 
          
     
Relic 2007
oil, enamel on paper block
40 x 31cm
Red & Black Shape 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on paper block
40 x 30cm
Buried Black Stripes 2007
oil, enamel and pencil on paper block
40 x 30cm
Two Toned Yellow 2007
oil, enamel on canvas
41 x 31cm
Two White Verticals 2007
oil, enamel on canvas
41 x 31cm