‘Unselfconsciously playful, my work examines a process of art making devoid of stringent conceptualism. It is about the physical act of painting, exploring the role of play, intuition, improvisation and the potentiality of paint.
A strong desire for freedom results in paintings which differ greatly from one canvas to the next. They are at once awkward and right, clumsy and refined. I want the struggle, ghosts of previous layers, the out of control-ness married with intent, an affinity with folk art, Paul Klee and the pure magic of children’s art to be apparent. Totems, universal forms such as triangles, architectonic structures coupled with the fleshy, uncontrollable and controlled paint.
How far can I push the confines of the medium itself? Quite far it would seem, for whilst some sections are pristine, glossy and spare, others are scratched and carved into, creating a physical, almost sculptural presence. Engaging the senses is a preoccupation attained through the haptic quality of the surfaces, their sheer size intending to immerse and transport the viewer. To read them, one is required to study the various layers and subtleties closely. Distance then allows for a heady, invigorating rousing of moving through emphatic gesture and joyous and unexpected colour combinations.
To be delighted and seduced and to escape is intrinsic to my practice. Yet this is not to say I do not experience and welcome the tensions abstract painting presents – taking wrong turns, the beautiful and ugly, the tension between the ideal and real. I am always vacillating between doubt and joy, it is at times taxing, but oh so right!’
Miranda Skoczek holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Victoria College of Arts, University of Melbourne and a Diploma of Applied Arts and Graphic Design from the Canberra Institute of Technology. She has exhibited her paintings and collages internationally as well as throughout Australia in numerous solo and group exhibitions.
