Chroma

Chroma: three visions, one conversation in colour.

This November, J/M Gallery presents Chroma, three artists, three unique perspectives, one vibrant exploration of colour. This exhibition brings together the work of Essex based artists, Dinah Case, Helle Johansen-Baker and Amanda Jackson celebrating the energy, emotion and rhythm of abstract painting. All three artists exploit the process of creating paintings, revelling in the colour and qualities of the materials and the element of chance and accident to create work; whilst Johansen-Baker draws on her inner emotions to explore colour and form, Jackson and Case explore colour and mark making through their interaction with the landscape and their environment. Winter time seems the perfect time of year to show work that explores chroma, the purity and intensity of colour.

Dinah Case is an abstract painter and printmaker living next to the Thames Estuary. The ever-changing light, shapes, textures and colours of this environment interest her and form the basis for much of her work. The patterns and structures she sees and explores here in nature and industry, are recurring themes in her art. She works mainly in acrylic, print and collage, often mixing the three together in one piece. She develops several pieces at once which helps her experiment and keep a freedom in the process. She is interested in the tension created by juxtaposition of materials, the relationship of colours, patterns and shapes on the picture scape. What excites is the tension created by the proximity of a shape to a line; The calmness of a colour field of layered paint. She is investigating how the colours, marks and patterns create mood and take her back to the landscape and the experiences that inspired her.

Helle Johansen-Baker is a process-based artist, mostly self-taught and inspired by the “not knowing” of the creative process. The vibrant exploration of colour ad form is the foundation for her work and driven by a fascination with how colours interact, she seeks to evoke emotion and movement through subtle layering techniques that add depth and texture to each piece. Her work is mostly abstract using acrylics, layered with mixed media and collage, creating dynamic compositions that celebrate the interplay of hues and shapes. Most of the work is created on wood panels and larger work is painted on canvas.

Amanda Jackson uses as a starting point for her acrylic and oil paintings, memories and sensations of places that coalesce and change over time, becoming a reimagining of landscape in the mind. She allows paint to flow and move, pushing and pulling liquid continents of colour across the canvas, exploring the accidental, seeing where the paint will lead are essential to her painting practice. She enjoys the unexpected outcomes, watching a painting evolve, sometimes coming together quickly, sometimes needing more time to build the layers and add and subtract marks and passages of paint. She delves deep into the subconscious to arrive at the final abstract paintings that will contain the essence of a landscape.

The exhibition will be open daily from 10 am - 6 pm, with the exception of Sunday, where the gallery will close at 4 pm. An opening evening will take place on 06 November, 6 pm - 9 pm.