Moving Pictures
Looking beneath the surface, Perth artist Stephanie Reisch finds beauty in the hidden effect of time and movement on our landscape.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Linton & Kay Galleries • PHOTOGRAPHY Jody D’Arcy • INTERVIEW Elizabeth Clarke
Ghosts, Chaos, Time, 2019 by Stephanie Reisch. Oil on canvas.
What is about the Western Australian landscape that intrigues you??
I am interested in exploring the landscape from an elemental state. I'm curious about the aspects of the landscape that can't be seen beneath the surface: the marks and fragments covered by sand and sea. I look at it through a primal lens at the effects time has had on it and the stains of human and animal occupation. All the parts are in motion yet not visible to the human eye. I want to capture that movement, primal energy, and sense of place that represents the layering of different time scales. My visual language has evolved over the years, but the recurring motifs, like claws, beaks and wings, have remained constant. I am endeavouring to capture the sensation of specific places, which I do through site documentation using photography and field recordings. I don't just paint a landscape as I see it or use horizons or perspective. I am breaking down inside and outside spaces and bringing them together.
Where do you paint, and what mediums do you use?
I paint large-scale works from my studio at ROOK in Carlisle, an artist-run initiative. I am, first and foremost, an oil painter, but I also enjoy working with sound and installation. Over the years, I have experimented with creating my own earth-based materials, but these days I am more excited by high-key colour palettes. The ideas that drive my practice have stayed the same, but my techniques and understanding of materials constantly evolve. It's exciting to explore concepts and ideas with exciting new materials and see where that leads.
What inspired you to take up art?
As a child, I arrived in Perth from Brussels and remember the impression the contrasting landscape and light made on me. I was enthralled by the bushland and the place's primal energy. My family encouraged my interest in art. I was torn between practising architecture, visual arts and music for a while, but eventually painting challenged me the most. It made me want to get up every morning.
Did you formally train?
I did a Master of Fine Arts at UWA but started out doing an architecture degree, which I didn't finish. After university is where the real learning begins, and once you’re out, you must develop a disciplined routine. You need to organise your research and be able to make connections. To properly arrive somewhere, you must set and stick to milestones and challenges.
What is the inspiration behind your work Fantasia (pictured)?
Funnily, the colour palette was inspired by my nostalgia for the Fanta soft drink and the fantasy world depicted in The NeverEnding Story, both of which I really enjoyed as a kid. Yet, this painting embodies a broader spectrum of my artistic philosophy when viewed through the more discerning lens of adulthood. It questions and expands the traditional boundaries of landscape painting and what it can be, inviting the viewer to contemplate the interconnectedness of the universe and its place within it.
The canvas becomes a fluid realm where organic forms are in the process of creation and dissolution, weaving and unravelling, in an intimate choreography with elemental forces. Avian entities, a recurring motif in my work, are set against terrestrial and celestial hues. This piece is not just an aesthetic experience; it's a philosophical exploration of existence and transformation, framed by the enduring themes of earth and sky that persistently thread through my work.
What are you working on now?
I am developing a project for an upcoming residency in Albany at Vancouver Arts Centre. The idea is to capture the spirit of inanimate things, like rock formations, and Albany has some of the most beautiful. I may even explore the whaling station. It is an area filled with creative possibilities.
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM @stephanie.reisch
Fantasia, 2023 by Stephanie Reisch. Oil on canvas.
"Funnily, the colour palette [for Fantasia] was inspired by my nostalgia for the Fanta soft drink and the fantasy world depicted in The NeverEnding Story."
—STEPHANIE REISCH
Represented by Linton & Kay Galleries
Subiaco | West Perth | Cherubino Wines
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