In Christine Vella’s paintings, abstraction takes on two forms. In one, she uses the textures and colors of the Australian outback to create patterns that express the landscape’s essence. “I want to show that the Australian landscape is not just a surface, a physical component of the earth but a language that speaks in both abstract and reality,” she says. Working in oils on canvas and cardboard, Vella brings that language alive through her ability to explore the emotional impact of color and a sense of line and composition that is dynamic yet balanced, capturing the shifting energies of the world she depicts.

 

Color and line are also at the center of the other form of abstraction in which she employs. In her “hard edge abstractions,” Vella makes images with a sharp geometric precision that is enlivened by the same energy and balance found in her landscapes. In these paintings, pure shapes and forms are given a physical presence that engages viewers and makes them active participants in the image’s meaning. The artist lives and works in Macedon Ranges, Australia.