Langour Catalogue Essay

by Emma Epstein
Curator, Canberra Muesum and Gallery

In her latest series of paintings Anwen Keeling has captured her subjects admist a sizzling summer heat. Her images range from intensley intimate moments within the bathroom, to group scenes at the iconic Bondi Beach sea baths. The works are sensuous and voyeuristic with lush surfaces and deep chiaroscuro tantalising the eye. Mood, atmosphere and the power of suggestion are paramount.

Filmic strategies abound in Anwen Keeling's new works. Like cues from a film script, the titles of the paintings alert us to the possible psychological implications of the imagery. In "Expectation", a young woman waits in the morning chill of an open door, her stillmess reflected in the polished floorboards beneath her feet. From the perspective of an adjoining room, the viewer participates in a narrative which extends beyond the canvas. Although the camera's ability to  record with absolute fidelity is a considerable aid to her artistic process, the importance of the painted surface is never relinquished. Littering her canvases with meticulous transcriptions of light, shadow relection and pattern, Keeling masterfully alludes to realism whilst revelling in an intensely coloured palette and exploring the very tactile qualities of paint and glaze.

The influence of Caravaggio on Keeling's work is undeniable. Her use of dramatic lighting to define and accentuate form is particularly evident in the show's signature painting, "Languor". Stripped down and listless from the oppressive heat and humidity, three figures are seated within a deeply shadowed interior. Relentless sunlight streams through the closed, summer-bleached windows, illuminating dark corners and graphically highlighting damp flesh and sumptuous textures. Immobilised and apathetic, the women neither engage with each other nor with the viewer.

Throughout this new series of painting, Anwen Keeling deliberately precludes the viewer from the true condition of her subjects, choosing instead to seduce with ambiguity and rich opulent surfaces.

Artist Statement

The series of paintings entitled Waiting Room, and the work currently unfolding focuses on creating mood and atmosphere. The power of narrative, emotion and the echoes of film stills suggest far more than is contained within the frame of the canvas.

Isolated female figures are placed in a series of interiors in which the space is either flooded with light through gaps in the curtains or illuminated by the glare of an electric light bulb. A ‘film noir’ ambience is achieved with chiaroscuro effects and deep shadows revealing an emotional & psychological condition. The elements of mystery and suspense are contrasted with moments of intense personal rest & reflection, where the viewer is obliged to acknowledge their own voyeuristic intrusion. 

In “Tell me”2004, a woman stands arms crossed, her back to the viewer facing a man seated on a couch. The tension between the figures is evident and heightened by the space between them. In some of the latest paintings I have continued investigating the intensity of the relationships between subjects, creating stronger narratives and more dramatic compositions.

The technical process of painting is extremely important to me, and a strong background in the investigation of paint, mediums and surfaces has led me to my current work practice. I work largely from photographs taken of friends in domestic situations. I am always wary of the term photorealism, yet occasionally it attaches itself to my work. I feel that my work is not photorealist, as I never try and deny it is a painted surface, the glazing and brush marks are still evident and important.

I am constantly amazed by the qualities of paint and the colours available. I lean heavily towards the translucent colours, and even when using opaques, tend to glaze over them with translucent colours. There is something incredibly beautiful about pigments, such as carmine, and the alchemy that happens when you mix it with your medium and then glaze over the painted surface. I tend to over saturate the colour in my paintings, and there is usually a colour scheme in each piece, although that begins when I set up my photographs. I am quite bewitched by inky shadows and glowing flesh, and have always been influenced by Caravaggio and his mastery of chiaroscuro

Emma Epstein, catalogue essay, Home Ground, ANU, Canberra 2004

"In this her most recent series of work, Waiting Room, Keeling … has stepped away from documenting lifestyle and towards creating a psychological space ...  We are deliberately precluded from the true condition of her subjects and are provided with few clues to their current circumstance. Her paintings are suspended moments from the unfolding of their fictional lives, where the narrative becomes the viewer's."

Paul Flynn, Curatorial Director, Brian Moore Gallery

Brian Moore Gallery is pleased to announce Waiting Room, an exhibition of new paintings by Anwen Keeling. Keeling's portrait of radio stars Merrick and Rosso is currently hanging in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, State Library of NSW, until 20 September 2004. Five works from this exhibition are currently hanging in the survey show, Home Ground at the Australian National University Gallery, Canberra.

Keeling captured the imagery for her latest series Waiting Room with a camera, using friends as models. The influence of film and photography is manifest; however Keeling uses lush surfaces and deep chiaroscuro to reveal her slow art rather than conceal it with photo-realist illusion. Heavy glaze and sensual brush marks are both evident and important, and pigments are skillfully handled to create images that flash unnervingly in naked light or linger seductively in indigo shadows.

Born in Sydney, 1976, Anwen Keeling holds a BA, First Class and University Medal, Australian National University, Canberra and a Masters of European Fine Art from Winchester School of Art, Barcelona, Spain - South Hampton University. She has exhibited in Spain, Japan and England as well as selected shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, including The Year in Art (2003) and Salon des Refuses (2004), SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney. Collections include National Australia Bank and Australian National University, Canberra. This is Keeling's second exhibition with Brian Moore Gallery.

Home Coming

Artlook issue #03. August 04
www.artlook.com.au

Home Ground is an exhibition by 5 emerging female artists who have moved away from the Australian National University (ANU) School of Art, and most of them also away from Canberra; but who are in no danger of acquiring alien status. in fact, the return of these artists shows probable cause for celebration, as the reunion offers significant insight into the diversify of paths taken by graduates of the school of Art. Like Wolfe 6 decades ago, they comment and reflect upon the landscapes and environments they find themselves in, and are all to a large degree, on a personal journey.     More...

Critic's Picks – Dominique Angeloro

The Sydney Morning Herald, Metro, Sep 3-9, 2004

"These luminous paintings of domestic interiors are so tantalisingly realistic you'll feel compelled to apologise for the intrusion. The semi-clad inhabitants of Keeling's latest series, Waiting Room, are caught in moments of contemplation. In Waiting Room #2 a woman sits hunched up in a bath, gazing at her fingertips. Keeling was a finalist in this year's Doug Moran Portrait Prize, and this exhibition furthers her reputation as an exceptional painter."

Open Gallery – Lenny-Anne Lo

Sydney Morning Herald- Weekend Edition,
Spectrum August 21-22, 2004

Waiting Room

Previously, Anwen Keeling has focused on sections of female bodies in almost film noir settings or collections of friends clustered in dark, rich hues. These ingredients have now combined for a body of work suggesting film stills, her skill with oil paints furnishing each with a luminosity reminiscent of light filtering through celluloid. Keeling was selected for the 2004 Salon des Refuses and the 2003 The Year in Art and is currently showing her portrait of radio duo Merrick and Rosso in the Doug Moan National Portrait Prize. This series of work, titled Waiting Room, compounds her status as an exceptional painter.

Images of Raw Power

Art critic JEFF MAKIN sums up the contenders vying for this year's coveted Metro 5 art prize.  Herald Sun, Monday February 9, 2004

"Equally the well-crafted realist back view of a waiting female, in bra and panties, by Anwen Keeling looks like a winner, yet addresses rituals of a different sort.

The pause of expectation, here elegantly suggested in a darkened room with well painted curtains, joins the boudoir paintings that undress this universal subject.

Titian, Goya, Modigliani, and our own Brett Whitely have all been persistent, tireless, researchers and achievers in this genre.

Keeling's bedroom scene is not raunchy (as Whitely's invariably are), but moves with a delicate sensibility around the feminine shyness of this form.

It is tonally rendered.

And there is the intoxicating fragrance of the French master, Balthus, in the pensive space of this painting, which cant be a bad thing."