Liza Giles

About

Giles’ large-scale abstract paintings combine a hard-edge approach to line and composition with intuitive markmaking, incorporating expressive gestures amid rigorous formal structures.

Her painting style developed from making smaller collages using found scraps and painted cut-outs. The monumental canvases seen in this exhibition begin with elemental forms that emerged from these collages, transforming the interplay of positive and negative forms through scale and painterly means of expression. At times appearing architectural, the paintings suggest the immensity and solidity of the urban skyline, while harmonious earth tones and feathered edges integrate a sense of light and space.

Often working flat to control the flow of acrylic paint, Giles works by instinct, moving and re-arranging shapes and panels until new intersecting forms emerge. In this way, the paintings remain in flux throughout their making as well as retaining the palpable edge of the initial collage ‘cut’. The muscular swathes of paint are intersected by the internal boundaries of the individual canvas panels, creating borders and channels that splice through the expressive drips and splashes. 

Giles says. “My works are driven by an impetus to ‘switch off’ and re-engage with our instinct. I want my art to speak honestly to its observer in a pure and simple way. My work is essentially about how it makes you feel.”