Claire Burke’s contemplative gold and silver - leaf panels convey grace and lucidity. The sparsely colour-infused, mysterious squares and rectangles are congregated to form a meticulously arranged network of grids. Controlled processes allow her to create cracked and exposed surfaces, to lay bare the hidden colours beneath. Pastels and other colours are combined with shades of gold and silver leaf. They are sealed and protected with a layer of lacquer to achieve a reflective effect.
Barrington Tobin's dynamic compositions emerge from architectural frameworks which govern the interplay of geometrical forms in the spatial field. Animated by vivid hues and textures, these compelling forms serve to deepen his abstractions. The ‘orb’ is the predominant, vital presence in Tobin’s work; it is sometimes visually manifest and at other times lost in his organic process of painting. This evolving, spherical shape symbolises both a point of entry and departure, and is a portal for an exploration of the sublime.
Both artists create contemplative and spiritual paintings that lead to an inward journey. Born of different creative processes, their works nevertheless reveal nuanced expressiveness and technical accomplishment.
Renée Pfister, 2012