Inspired predominately by the Baroque period, my work is an expression and reinterpretation of the historical image within the context of contemporary art practices; primarily focusing on the portrayal of emotions, and the passions of the soul, through gesture and expression. Whether an anguished face, a hand pressed to the breast, a face filled with joy, rapture or love, or a sublime landscape these images evoke an emotive response.
Through my interpretation of these works I aim to project my images beyond the normal boundaries into a world of excess, where the body becomes the expression and the sensation; writhing with torment, sexual tension, spiritual ecstasy or the pain of martyrdom. I attempt to address disclosure of a concealed truth; making the invisible visible.
Within my work I aim to create an atmosphere where violence and serenity meet, light and contrast become every bit as powerful as form, where shadows create pools of drama and unease; and where the mark of the artist portrays the essence and being of the emotion being portrayed. In my work, figures and faces respond and react to unseen emotional triggers, often the subjects are not the main focus of the work, but instead witnesses of something greater, poised on a spiritual, liminal threshold of heightened perception and intensity within an ambiguous narrative.
Lee Trewartha
2020