Oil on Board
100cm x 100cm
‘Backyard Ensemble’ is a sculptural accumulation of detritus from the yard: a bucket of clippings from the neighbour’s fig tree that were scraping against the roof late one night; a lawn chair pulled out from the shed to brush off dust and spiders; pool toys dug out of the box of ‘summer fun stuff’. A spring day spent tidying up the backyard, the new warmth offering hope for the summer days to come, quickly turned into some fooling around with objects dangling from the clothesline – just because it’s fun having fun. I started this painting well over a year ago, due to its size and my available time for ‘play’ meant it spent some time facing the wall waiting for my return. Working on this size offers me the opportunity to play with a variety of brushes and techniques. Whilst I lay paint down quite thin, I also enjoy applying areas with a palette knife, brushing over with a house brush and wiping sections back to expose the layers underneath.
Backyard Ensemble - Chelsea Gustafsson
Chelsea is an artist from Barwon Heads. She is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne and Penny Contemporary, Hobart. She also shows her paintings through Michael Reid Murrurundi, and this year had her first show with Michael Reid Berlin.
She has previously worked in Prop-making for film and television and was the Studio Technician for sculptors Dean Colls and Louise Skacej.
“My paintings often explore themes around society and the environment. Whilst news events and books help to inform the common themes around my work, the works themselves are staged around my immediate environment as still-lifes using items found around the home or even from the street.
I’m fascinated with the seemingly mundane, there’s an unexpected beauty in what we regard as common or waste. I like to play with objects and textures that don’t necessarily sit well or naturally together. Through the process of constructing items into a sculptural form and twisting or balancing them to find their sweet spot for a composition, they begin to gel as a single form, and a beauty emerges. It’s this tension of what’s seemingly pleasing yet has an underlying awkwardness that I find a kind of peacefulness in.”