Fact: Alchemy is the pursuit of transmutation of base metals into gold or silver - chemists have engaged in this process for centuries. Artists over the centuries have also played with the idea of alchemy and believed that the process of painting requires some kind of inexplicable energy or focus that allows the paint to transform and transfix on the canvass as something other than paint - perhaps silver or gold.
Art, I feel, encompasses such a broad spectrum of genre that sometimes in its very guise things are misconstrued and represented to the world as art which fall far short of any expression attributed to it. This is especially the case with abstracts or nude canvasses that leave all to the beholders imagination. Looking at abstracts and failing to make sense of it many a times (apart from certain modernistic merits that make them useful in minimalist settings), I have often wondered at the futility of this form of art. Often it has seemed the lazy-way-out as an artist - where fine technique has been abandoned and done away with in favour of wide brush strokes. Abstracts, I decided long ago, were not my cup to tea.
But then I came across Tanya Bonello's art during one of my usual google searches for up and coming artists last month- and kept coming back to the same page again and again and again. There was something different about her paintings. Her abstract paintings had a quality and texture I had never seen before - they were earthy, rich and mesmerisingly mysterious. The paint didn't look like paint, didn't feel like paint, the brush strokes, well there were none - colours and textures merged and blended subtly changing hues and patina. Some painting looked like a snap shot of the earth through a microscopic lens others looked like a view from a telescope of galaxies far far way. There was chaos on the canvas but the overall feel was so serene. How was that possible?
I got in touch with Tanya and learnt a little bit about her and her creative process. She uses gypsum, oils and a whole lot of different mediums from rust to gold and silver leaf to create her art. Tanya is always in a state of wonder. She never believes she has it figured out. Her process is mysterious; she constantly embraces unknown factors to create new work.
“A few months ago I acquired a container full of rusting iron nails that had been removed from antique wooden furniture in a state of restoration. Wanting to expedite the rusting process I submerged the nails in water and added a pinch of salt. Two days later I noticed that the meniscus of the water was supporting an iron residue which could be removed from the water and transferred onto wet gypsum plaster. Through observation and trial I deduced that length of time combined with not disturbing the meniscus of the water yielded different shades of colours: pale to rich gold, raw sienna, and burnt sienna through to crimson. The sediment syringed out of the water presented umber to pitch black. I call it iron ink. The wet gypsum absorbs the ‘ink,’ fixing its colour”. On paper, black iron ink dramatically metamorphoses into a rust-orange within minutes to hours, and then the colour settles. Wetness and dryness affect the colouring strength/permanence. Different metals and grades of iron and impurities yield different results."
Art, I feel, encompasses such a broad spectrum of genre that sometimes in its very guise things are misconstrued and represented to the world as art which fall far short of any expression attributed to it. This is especially the case with abstracts or nude canvasses that leave all to the beholders imagination. Looking at abstracts and failing to make sense of it many a times (apart from certain modernistic merits that make them useful in minimalist settings), I have often wondered at the futility of this form of art. Often it has seemed the lazy-way-out as an artist - where fine technique has been abandoned and done away with in favour of wide brush strokes. Abstracts, I decided long ago, were not my cup to tea.
I got in touch with Tanya and learnt a little bit about her and her creative process. She uses gypsum, oils and a whole lot of different mediums from rust to gold and silver leaf to create her art. Tanya is always in a state of wonder. She never believes she has it figured out. Her process is mysterious; she constantly embraces unknown factors to create new work.
“A few months ago I acquired a container full of rusting iron nails that had been removed from antique wooden furniture in a state of restoration. Wanting to expedite the rusting process I submerged the nails in water and added a pinch of salt. Two days later I noticed that the meniscus of the water was supporting an iron residue which could be removed from the water and transferred onto wet gypsum plaster. Through observation and trial I deduced that length of time combined with not disturbing the meniscus of the water yielded different shades of colours: pale to rich gold, raw sienna, and burnt sienna through to crimson. The sediment syringed out of the water presented umber to pitch black. I call it iron ink. The wet gypsum absorbs the ‘ink,’ fixing its colour”. On paper, black iron ink dramatically metamorphoses into a rust-orange within minutes to hours, and then the colour settles. Wetness and dryness affect the colouring strength/permanence. Different metals and grades of iron and impurities yield different results."
Respect! No wonder her art is in private collection of many clients from New York to London to Dubai. Yes! yours truly is the proud connoisseur of Tanya's art shipped over from Cape Town.
