Art

Miranda Skoczek · Fragments and Sunbeams

This afternoon we stop by TDF favourite Miranda Skoczek‘s latest exhibition, on for just a few more days at NKN Gallery in Melbourne.

Fragments and Sunbeams brings together five predominantly oil-on-linen paintings, in a unique and self-reflective showcase by the Melbourne-based artist.

Written
by
Elle Murrell

Miranda Skoczek’s lastest exhibition is on until May 20 at NKN Gallery in Melbourne. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

Rug Flag Rug, 2017, oil and enamel spray paint on linen, 95x125cm framed. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

‘In this exhibition, more than ever before, there is quite a shift between each work… I study and borrow from myriad artists and influences. Here it’s Hans Hoffman and Howard Hodgkin, and ‘outsider’ artist Martha Jane Pettway to name a few!’ tells Miranda. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

A River Moving in Me, 2017, oil and enamel spray paint on linen, and The Life in Front, 2017, oil on linen, both 156x140cm framed. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

On the Side, 2016-2017, oil on linen, 64x74cm framed. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

Martha Jane Pettway Quilt, 2017, oil and acrylic on linen, 225x185cm. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

Writer
Elle Murrell
17th of May 2017

‘This show is definitely my most intimate,’ says Miranda Skoczek of her latest exhibition, now on at NKN Gallery in Melbourne. Fragments and Sunbeams hints at self-reflective themes, but also pays homage to other great artists Miranda reveres.

Artist Martha Jane Pettway lends her name to the most geometric and the largest of Miranda’s canvases, Martha Jane Pettway Quilt. ‘For at least half of my life, I’ve been drawn to the wondrous world of textiles. Nothing rivals its rich tradition for practicality, its symbolism and its ability to hold and celebrate personal stories and histories,’ tells Miranda. ‘I am also most drawn to textiles, as typically they are produced by women, and their power lays not only in their providing of warmth and utilitarian function, but in their mirroring of social and cultural change.’

Howard Hodgkin, a hero of Miranda’s, is honoured through On the Side. Here, the artist explains, the title is reflective of the thick paint she has gathered at the canvas edge, and also touches upon recent personal experiences.

On the other hand, in Rug Flag Rug Miranda’s attention extends from the centre of the painting out to the frame, vacillating between picture and object. ‘I love the weight and solidity of this picture, it feels quite masculine for me,’ she says, noting that rugs are another fine example of the layered narratives textiles can impart.

Miranda’s friend, Kez Hughes, once wrote that she has an almost pious connection to her work. While she does engage with a deep internal spirituality when producing her work, this is always coupled with a deluge of external references, from images to textiles, cultural motifs and iconography. It is through these influences that Fragments and Sunbeams weaves an homage to artistic greats, while maintaining Miranda’s ongoing fascination with, and synthesis of, material culture.

Fragments and Sunbeams by Miranda Skoczek
Running until May 20th
NKN Gallery
208 Lennox Street, Richmond, Melbourne

Following this, Miranda Skoczek’s ‘Physical Thinking’ exhibition will run from May 25 to June 10 at Arthouse Gallery in Sydney.

Fragments and Sunbeams by Miranda Skoczek is on until May 20 at NKN Gallery in Melbourne. Photo – courtesy of NKN Gallery.

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