Deborah Tarr: Shelter Island

Each painting has its own story to tell. From the primordial expanse of ‘Durdle Door’, with soft layers of forms evoking ancient rock formations, to the graphic simplicity of ‘Saffron Rock’. Some are real places, some are imagined. But whether they are real or not does not matter. It is the feeling for the viewer that is paramount. There is a world to discover and celebrate in each painting – a kind of visual poetry, perhaps a route into a reflective space away from the buzz and hassle of modern day life. As viewers, we are encouraged to participate in this reverie – to make the space and associations our own. The work speaks to our subconscious mind as she strives to give each painting an emotional content to empathise with the viewer on a human level, making her work powerful and universal.

Tarr describes the process of painting as a ‘conundrum’ – a constant cycle of decision making and self-discipline where a myriad of thoughts are tempered. Her paintings are tangible and conceptual, but even in the most reductive and abstract paintings there is an organic, living line. With so much thought put into each brushstroke, finding this balance between abstraction and figuration is what Tarr does best.