The Persistence of Blue
Liz Shreeve
24 September - 26 October 2019
View exhibition catalogue
From the Ancient Egyptians to Yves Klein Blue, the colour blue has been a point of fascination and inspiration for art, culture, music and science. In her The Persistence of Blue LIZ SHREEVE looks to the everyday occurrence of blue, inspired by her observations of the colours of posters in shop windows. Unlike pigments in artists’ watercolours and inks, printing inks fade in strong light turning something brash and gaudy into a thing of subtle beauty.
With attention to blue as a lasting colour, SHREEVE plays out its changing states through the shifting tones across paper patterns. In the delicate almost minute gradations of blue there is a observation of time and its passing, as SHREEVE marks out the process of blue fading from initial deep tones to almost white.
SHREEVE’s work delights in the myriad patterns of light and shade that the grid can inspire. She uses the strict geometry of the grid to create contemplative, harmonious shifts in depth and space. The grid is a point of control and inspiration.
Adding dynamism to the transition of blue, SHREEVE engages with the grid to create depth and space in her paper works that move between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional. With mathematical principles as her starting point SHREEVE discovers new arrangements in the repeating of geometric elements. A sense of transition occurs as light moves across the patterns, enhancing the depth and colour of blue and its seemingly infinite tones.
LIZ SHREEVE has recently been selected as a finalist in the Hazlehurst Art on Paper Award 2019, which will be in exhibition concurrently with our show, from 21 September until 17 November.