Artist Statement

Colour, shape, movement and space: visual elements which resonate within us and elicit specific responses. Kling Dunlop asks the question as to whether our reactions are the consequence of primal instinct, individual experience, or both.

Adele was born and brought up in southern Africa. During her formative years she was encircled by big skies, intense hues and large, pristine landscapes uncluttered by artificiality. Subsequently, she has lived a rather nomadic life residing in Europe and the USA. Although always drawn towards large scale works, portability has frequently been an issue. She has often addressed this by creating pieces which form part of a group so that the many have a larger presence than the one.

Current pursuits include painting, drawing and mixed media. Etchings and aquatints form an important part of her oeuvre.

The purely non-figurative works attempt to break away from preconceived subject matter and allow the evolution of form, content and composition to be dictated by the process of colour application. This gives rise to imaginary spaces and emotive themes. From the very first mark on the canvas, each stroke contributes to the emerging composition. There is no predetermined structure. A colour is selected to evoke mood and is brushed on, feathered and wiped. After the initial ground is applied a spatial structure emerges. The composition evolves as a consequence of decisions made as to which randomly formed areas to develop. Elements emerge, sometimes architectural, which dictate movements in and out of space.

Cavernous spaces, often inspired by the sense of endless, dreamlike environments, evolve. The individual is drawn into a landscape with unknown portals, precipitous planes and watery surges. For Kling Dunlop, the sentiment which drives her compositions is the attempt to find stability, however tenuous, in vast environments. Hard-edged lines, which contrast in form and colour with the atmospheric world of the painting, make precarious bridges between nebulous masses. In "Night Pool" red lines provide stablizing props, static counterpoints to the movements in the composition.

Adele does revisit previous periods such as in the “Creature” series. It demonstrates, that with the passing of time, new elements enter the equation. The creatures evolved from a series of inkblots which were manipulated in various ways to result in anthropomorphic and very personal symbols.

Other works push beyond the two dimensional and extend into the surrounding physical space with attached objects projecting into the world of the viewer, as with “Sundial," “L’Ultima Cena,”and Landscape IV.

This presentation showcases some of Adele's most recent work, as well as selections from various past periods, including commissions, which encompass diverse styles and subject matter.