Saturation: Paintings by Caroline Herdson

Saturation
Paintings by Caroline Herdson
10 - 21 September

Opening: Tues 9th Sept 5.30 - 7pm

"But here there is no light save what from heaven is with the breezes blown . ." -Keats

These horses are clearly part of wedding-like rituals. There is a sense of them belonging to a structured society. They are participating in the ceremonies, often bleeding.

There is heroism, love and passion - ingredients of tragedy.

By using horses instead of people the theatrical nature of the ceremonies is highlighted.

Just as the female horse-figure often has a veil as her accessory or prop, the male horse-figure has his blood.

The bleeding horses give the works undertones of violence, sadness and tragedy.

However, these undertones are battling with the subject matter - marriage, celebration, love, and also with the painterly qualities -which are striving for beauty rather than horror.

The more symbolic and illustrative the subject matter, the harder it is for the painting to claim indifference to it. The work, and the viewer, yield to the associations evoked; The veil is dream-like, ghostly, feminine, a disguise to hide behind. The blood is ominous, disturbing, jewel-like, glowing and fatal. The wound is Christ-like, the mare reminicent of Madonna, the kiss is both loving and aggressive, the cliffs are theatrical backdrops of fabric and the audience of horses is silent and bewildered.

The exhibition is titled 'Saturation'; the lighting and colours are kept in saturated form (and the ground is saturated in blood).

Caroline has a background in art, architecture, philosophy, and teaching art and design.

Saturation will be her second solo exhibition at Satellite Gallery.

"no matter how joyously the miniaturist colours the sea and clouds, he ought to include something equivalent to the darkness of my fears and as intense as my dreams of happiness . . " -Orhan Pamuk

www.satellitegallery.co.nz | 307 6416 | Cnr St Benedicts st & Newton Rd (Entrance St Benedicts St)

ENDS

© Scoop Media