Artist statement

“I’m constantly amazed and inspired by the visceral and sensual qualities of oil paint, the materials themselves can dictate the journey of a painting. I often choose to paint on larger scale canvases so the work is as much a physical as a mental process - it’s at this point of full immersion that I feel I can really be my most honest self. My work is figurative and relies on a strong drawing practise within which line and colour are predominant.”

The journey of a painting is a constant focus throughout my practise, works created over the last couple of years have allowed me to really push beyond the representational and into a more abstracted and expressive space. A recent focus has been making automatic paintings starting from reference images then letting the work evolve through the rhythm of the marks and colours. These works can take inspiration from family history, analogue photography, the written word and memory. I seek a mindful headspace which allows, in a meditative way, the painting to direct it’s own path. The goal is to be present in the moment of making which is incredibly liberating and true to purpose.

Exhibition- Zuleika Gallery- 6th - 27th April

VIEW Works at Zuleika

Zuleika Gallery is delighted to present Dance with me in the Sunlit Pools, a solo exhibition of new works by Carrie Stanley. The title of the show draws from lyrics from Jig of Life by Kate Bush. A song that embraces ‘seizing the day’, making a meaningful impact and cherishing the bond between individuals and their loved ones. Stanley describes her journey towards this exhibition as “a meeting place though the realm of painted memory”. Her uniquely personal approach embodies her response to finding a cache of her late husband’s celluloid negatives and working directly from them rather than the photographs. On raw linen, her works emerge slowly just as an analogue photograph emerges from the development process. For Stanley, painting is ‘automatic’ and intuitive, and breaths new life into her memories. These in turn become something ‘other’ in the process; embedded in the fabric and paint and given a new identity. In their new lives, brushstrokes musically morph though forms which are biomorphic and often figurative. The paintings emerge as acts of joyful reverence embracing past, present and future. A celebration of a transmutative journey embedded in their material presence.