Cressida Campbell
Join Cressida Campbell on a tour of her life's work including personal reflections and insight into her unique artistic practice.
In each room, the works are organised by theme and you can hear a description of these themes from Curator, Sarina Noordhuis-Fairfax.
Still life
Room 1
'Degas said, ‘Never paint anything you don't love’, which I thought was an interesting and fascinating tip. It doesn’t have to be beautiful in any way, but it has to be something that you love to examine.'
—Cressida Campbell
This is a room about
a genre of art: still life
the language of light: colour
the outlines of objects: form
the repetition of shapes: pattern
and treasured things: collecting.
It is also a room about love, as Campbell’s woodcut prints and woodblock paintings reveal evidence of shared meals and conversations. We sense the presence of the artist’s family and friends in plates of leftovers or rows of dishes drying on the sink. These domestic images reflect moments of connection.
Working from her garden studio, Campbell moves between looking and making. Over several months she works through stages of drawing, carving, painting and printing. Although the ideas arise from details she notices in her everyday surroundings, each composition requires a rigorous balance between stylised outline, tone and decoration. Campbell edits these elements until each image offers a seemingly effortless balance between design and subject.
