'A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image.' – Elaine de Kooning
Holly Zandbergen's landscape paintings, whilst reflecting on particular moments in the natural world, are also informed by a sense of the present moment, its changeability and possibility.
Depicting the Southern Alps of her native New Zealand through confident impasto - thick layers of oil paint built up with a palette knife - Zandbergen’s works resonate with frenetic energy. Each mark on the canvas reveals a different momentum in her application. As striations of pinks, reds and yellows intermingle with a naturalistic palette of whites and blues, Zandbergen’s practice reveals the multiple workings of a human response:
'Painting is a personal act that works to understand the subject. Whether the subject be that of the internal world of the artist or a literal form of the external world, it is the very translation of thought to form that ignites life within the painting. As an artist, I wish to use the paint as a medium to explore this kindred connection that exists between the mark and intention.' – Holly Zandbergen
The exhibition will feature ten major works, which draw on the imagery of award-winning New Zealand photographer and environmentalist Craig Potton.
Zandbergen was shortlisted for the New Zealand Art Show Emerging Artist Award, and went on to exhibit at the National Open Art Competition at London's Royal College of Art. There she was selected for the Prudential Best Young Artist Award. In 2016, one of her works was selected for the Columbia Threadneedle Exhibition, and toured to Florence's Palazzo Strozzi. I Sit in the Blue of the Hills will follow an exhibition of Zandbergen's work at the Seattle Art Fair and precede a presentation of her work at Art Toronto.