“Sarah Guppy uses a transparent glass pane and its refractory depth as a blank canvas. Working in reverse with glass enamel paints requires unusual dexterity, vision and intuition. In addition there must be a perspectival, compositional and colourist’s sense beyond the norm.” (1)

The Garment Of Landscape is “an exploration of mark making from the abstract to the realist landscape.” (2) In a language of texture, surface tension and colour saturation, Guppy observes the geology of the landscape.

Combining celebratory hues of hot pink, lime green, yellow and blue with intense patternation, Guppy creates a sense of animated rhythm and movement. She describes herself as a transformer, establishing a narrative reality drawn from the traditions of painting but which exist only in the world of her glass.

There are three distinct segments within the exhibition; her paintings shift from the abstract to the realist, exploring the spaces between. Although not always recognisable, the geology of the land is ever present; her paintings cut the earth in two to reveal not only the surface, but also what lies beneath. In Divine Geology Guppy dissects the earth’s strata while further works depict the earth as a living entity, energy from its core pulsating upward toward a distant horizon (Garment of Mind and Sunset Convergence). The final works present a serene vista (Tapestry Tussock and Patchwork Landscape) where Guppy demonstrates her technical ability to paint in the traditional landscape genre.

1. Stephen Higginson, “Mass, Space, Colour and Intention,” Glass Invitational NZ, 2005.
2. Sarah Guppy, Artist statement, 2005.