December 20 – February 22 | Opening reception: Saturday December 20, 6 – 8 pm
VANESSA MALTESE: Is it clear what you are doing?
VANESSA MALTESE: Not entirely. At this point I am just trying to get it all down on paper.
VM: I don’t see any paper here.
VM: No, neither do I.
VM: But there is a use of line that speaks to drawing.
VM: Yes, and a use of paint that speaks to painting.
VM: The primary surface shows here through a set of lines that form a pattern.
VM: And the pattern alludes to some sort of hidden three dimensional mass.
VM: Exactly. And if the lines are the raw ground?
VM: Then the paint must be the figure.
VM “Must” is a very sure word in this case.
VM: You are right, I actually find these surfaces very perplexing.
VM: Do you think this is deliberate?
VM: Well, yes, deliberate in attempt to understand form and then to misunderstand it again.
VM: Is form all you are attempting to understand?
VM: Well, no, colour and line are also in question, among other things.
VM: There is a lot of repetition in these works.
VM: Well, I guess you could say a story is never told just once.
Vanessa Maltese (b. 1988, Toronto, Canada) holds a BFA from OCAD University. She is the National Winner of the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competition, and has exhibited her work nationally. Most recently Maltese was included in the group show One, and Two, and More Than Two curated by Micah Lexier at The Power Plant, Toronto. Maltese currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.