Melissa Setterington

Fine Art Web Site

Gallery Category Description

Collage/Cutouts:

In the process of developing an appropriate methodology, the use of cut-outs or collage became an extremely important step in the development of a strong fine art identity. My focus was on how to explore good compositions which expressed tension in a flat, hard edged manner. The understanding and use of the interaction of colour, form and space explored through the Cut-outs, became strong elements in the development of my identity as an artist.

Paintings:

I furthered my research of the interaction of colour, form and space through paintings. This involved an in-depth exploration of contrasting colours, those which would express succinctly, visually and aesthetically, the strongest tension, particularly that produced by polarities: hot versus cold, controlled versus expressive, sharp-edged versus soft/blurred edges. Through these elements I have discovered a visual language to explore how I view the differences between two cultures: European and Nicaraguan. Abstract symbolism is used together with the development of an extensive medium exploration and application methods such as those which emerged in late Modernist Art.

Relief/3D-Work:

My awareness of the relationship between space and form inspired me further to explore my relationship with the emerging 3D shapes. I wanted to free the shapes further from their contained spaces. I cut the shapes out in medium density boards and by taking the right angles off the shapes they were freed further. I explored ways of subverting the space and of increasing their spatial dynamics. My wish was to increase the viewer’s perception of them as objects in space. The tension created when I freed the images from the background was extremely successful. I feel the tension in my gut, ripping through me in the same way that the images rip through space. Equally, the tension between space and form and the space created by the shadows is extremely strong, so strong that the viewer can feel it cutting through the space. The third dimension created by the shadows cast by the relief work is a direct result of these explorations and one that I have explored further in a 3-dimensional way