11 Jul 2018

The Possibilities of Line

McKenzie Fine Art

Reviewed by Harry Newman

From the simplest of starting points, McKenzie Fine Art has put together a rewarding show looking at the variety and centrality of the use of line in contemporary abstraction.

With more than forty pieces from sixteen artists, the work in "The Possibilities of Line" spans approaches and forms, including painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, and photograms. Basic geometrics abound - many are clear descendants of Constructivism or Op Art - but the theme, more interestingly, complicates into curves, swathes, and organic forms.

In the best pieces, line is a means and not an end, as in Nicholaus Jamieson's elegant exploration of balance, Exhibit T – Red (2018), made primarily using contractor's chalkline. The show's most compelling work is Sublime Vanish (2018) by Jaanika Peerna, a gray-painted Mylar construction occupying an entire wall that takes drawing and line into the third dimension, suggesting the sweep and weight of clouds, gathering and darkening into storm.