Through the transformative process of applying paint on canvas, Karen Gray’s art has long been concerned with re-contextualising objects and investing them with personal meaning. The emotional resonance of the artist’s intent is imbedded in the work’s tactile surface, and melancholic imagery.

Gray’s recent body of work focusses on the depiction of nests, bowls and origami paper cranes, these unlikely objects sitting harmoniously in the picture plane.  The ideas for the series, sprung very naturally, from watching the small birds that make their home in the shrubs underneath the artist’s studio window. Gray waited patiently until their eggs had hatched and the proverbial nest was empty, before taking it into the studio. Fascinated by the aesthetic qualities of nests, their fragile and seemingly chaotic construction which belie strength and perfect functionality, these nests soon consumed her work. Perhaps it was also the metaphorical reading of these objects that the artist sought to harness. There is a sense of absence in Gray’s nests. While they used to nurture life, here they are rendered empty. This is enhanced by their juxtaposition with small empty bowls. While these two objects mirror each other in their overall shape, they are visually quite opposite. The smooth round, glossy surface of the bowls, painted with intricate ornamental scenes verses the natural random, roughness of the nests. It is this push-pull of textures that is reflected in her paintwork, which ranges from tightly detailed description, to looser brushier strokes.

Marguerite Brown
May 2008