22nd Aug - 16th Sept, 2009Opens Sat 22nd August, 10am - 4pm, Artist will attend

ELIZABETH REES

Elizabeth ReesPreview 29th January from 5.30pm

Artist talk 30th January 11.30am30th January - 24th February 2010

In Motion

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling St (03) 477 7727 www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

1. ELIZABETH REES, Light Air (2009), oil on canvas, stretcher

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Light Air (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Silence (2009)oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 608 x 608 x 23 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Silence (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Competition (2009)oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 608 x 608 x 22 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Out of the Blue (2009)oil on linen, stretcher (v x h x d): 760 x 760 x 22 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Competition (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Out of the Blue (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Around Again (2009)oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 650 x 752 x 22 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Light Turn (2009)oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 750 x 1000 x 36 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Around Again (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Light Turn (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Club Run (2009)oil on jute, stretcher (v x h x d): 455 x 603 x 36 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm I (2009)oil on jute, stretcher (v x h x d): 452 x 702 x 36 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm II (2009)oil on jute, stretcher (v x h x d): 452 x 702 x 36 mm

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ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm II (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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ELIZABETH REES, Fun Run (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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10. ELIZABETH REES, Fun Run (2009), oil on canvas, stretcher

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Dawn Chorus (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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11. ELIZABETH REES, Dawn Chorus (2009), oil on canvas, stretcher

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Twilight Team (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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12. ELIZABETH REES, Twilight Team (2009), oil on canvas, stretcher

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Surrender to the Sky (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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13. ELIZABETH REES, Surrender to the Sky (2009), oil on canvas, stretcher

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES, Flow (2009)DETAIL VIEW

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14. ELIZABETH REES, Flow (2009), oil on canvas, stretcher

oil on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1150 x 1200 x 36 mm

ELIZABETH REES : In Motion : PRICELIST

1 13,000ELIZABETH REES, Light Air (2009)

2 6,500ELIZABETH REES, Silence (2009)

3 6,500ELIZABETH REES, Competition (2009)

4 7,500ELIZABETH REES, Out of the Blue (2009)

5 7,000ELIZABETH REES, Around Again (2009)

6 9,000ELIZABETH REES, Light Turn (2009)

7 5,000ELIZABETH REES, Club Run (2009)

8 5,500ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm I (2009)

9 5,500ELIZABETH REES, Rhythm II (2009)

10 13,000ELIZABETH REES, Fun Run (2009)

11 13,000ELIZABETH REES, Dawn Chorus (2009)

12 13,000ELIZABETH REES, Twilight Team (2009)

13 13,000ELIZABETH REES, Surrender to the Sky (2009)

14 13,000ELIZABETH REES, Flow (2009)

Momentum and passage are ever-present in Elizabeth Rees’ new body of work. Time is frozen

as figures captured ‘In Motion’ give a real sense of bodies moving through the landscape. As

if part of a cinematic film strip, dark human shapes move forward, but where are they going

to or what are they running from? Rees explores mood, energy, a physical connection to our

surrounding environment and the onwards determination of the journey we all experience in

our daily life.

From dynamic, expressive brush strokes that are dragged and twisted across the painting

surface to soft, smudgy and delicate application, Rees masterfully uses paint. ‘Light Air’

explores the momentum of forward movement, with expressive horizontal brush work guiding

ones eye from left to right.

Rees’ palette has broadened, and candescent reds and oranges give an appearance of

glowing light. ‘Fun Run’ addresses the energy and power of the moving body and the restless

nature of the mind. Figures emanate light as if fuelled by fire, driving forward and onward.

‘Surrender to the Sky’ shows a figure hurtling through reddish early morning or late evening

skies while the comfort in others is expressed in ‘Twilight Team’ as a group of figures move

towards the darkening night.

Rees’ feminine and familiar peaches and creams are contrasted against darkened bodies.

There is a softness and vulnerability to these works. A solitary figure is pictured in ‘Silence’ and

a sense of peace and meditation is explored through the composition. The smudgy and

smoky application in ‘Flow’ shows a misty landscape, where a lone figure passes towards an

unknown destination bathed in a soothing light.

Cropped figures and backgrounds allude to what lies beyond. What is out there in the

brooding darkness of the unknown? A fragment of time; we are only seeing a part, a

snapshot of the greater whole.

Rees’ paintings are enigmatic. From the brooding mood-scapes, to the face-less figures,

there is a quality of mystery and ambiguity to the work. As with life, each snapshot can be

interpreted and experienced in a different way, and the onward journey of discovery is what

makes us human.

Elizabeth Rees 2010 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

P a g e | 1

ELIZABETH REES b. 1959, lives Auckland

Idyll (2008)

Rees’ works explore the relationship between the body and mind and the environment in which we

exist. Within her recent canvases she depicts the body in motion, moving toward or away from the

unknown. “What are we fleeing from? What are we hurtling towards? What are we leaving behind and

what do we hope to find? Each to one's own path and motivation we are in motion in the passage of

life and time. Each painting freeze-frames a moment; the last step has gone and the next is yet to

come.” 1

Previous bodies of work show figures at intersections, within moody and still landscapes. “They

are…about people at intersections or crossroads of life. What we are witnessing are epiphanies, times of

decision and apprehension. The works become analogies for points of change and transition in the

stretch of human life, the physical, psychological and spiritual.” 2

As with her figure works, her landscapes have a psychological element. Each enigmatic space conjures

the feeling of isolation, potential and mystery. She achieves this through a controlled and unique use of

paint. Rees works on carefully primed canvases, enhancing the luminous qualities of oil paint. At times

she has created divisions in the picture plane which are either both real and imagined. “Light is a major

component of her work. The light of the skies and backgrounds flood around the dark scumbled figures,

providing them with brilliant auroras …which adds to the mystery of the works”. 3

Rees was born in Palmerston North in 1959. She completed a Diploma in Fine Arts, Queen Elizabeth

College in 1976 and a Diploma in Fine Arts [Painting], University of Canterbury in 1980. She has exhibited

regularly since 1989. She is represented in major private collections nationally and one of the most

significant private collections in the USA.

(1) Artist Statement, 2009.

(2) John Daly-Peoples, ‘Artist Rees conjures up sense of isolation’, National Business Review, 12 April 2002.

(3) John Daly-Peoples, ‘Southern view is full of foreboding.’ National Business Review, 14 May 1999

Elizabeth Rees 2010 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

P a g e | 2

ELIZABETH REES b. 1959, lives Auckland

EDUCATION

1976 Preliminary Diploma of Fine Arts, Queen Elizabeth College Palmerston North

1977 Diploma of Fine Arts (Painting Major), University of Canterbury, Christchurch

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2009 In Motion Milford Galleries Dunedin

2008 Rapture milford galleries auckland

2007 Second Sequence Milford Galleries Dunedin

Sequence milford galleries auckland

2006 Selected Paintings milford galleries auckland

2005 Mood & Memory Milford Galleries Dunedin

2004 Recent Paintings milford galleries queenstown

Figure and Landscape milford galleries auckland

2003 Traffic milford galleries auckland

2002 Intersection milford galleries auckland

2000 Painted Milford Galleries Dunedin

Journey milford galleries auckland

1999 Momentum Milford Galleries Dunedin

1998 Low Light Peter Muir Petford Gallery

1996 Here and Now Milford Galleries Dunedin

1995 Special Effects Chiaroscuro Gallery

1994 Second Stage Chiaroscuro Gallery

1993 Small Stage Chiaroscuro Gallery

1992 Recent Paintings Chiaroscuro Gallery

1989,90,91 Elizabeth Rees Auckland Society of Arts

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2009 Southern Landscape milford galleries queenstown

Take 5 MG, Auckland

2007 Masterworks milford galleries queenstown

Moments milford galleries auckland

Looking South Milford Galleries Dunedin

2006 Essence milford galleries auckland

Location South milford galleries queenstown

2005 The Southern Landscape Milford Galleries Dunedin

The Southern Landscape milford galleries queenstown

2004 Transit of Venus milford galleries Auckland

Transit of Venus milford galleries queenstown

Notable Works milford galleries queenstown

2003 Is As Landscape As Metaphor Milford Galleries Dunedin

Chosen milford galleries auckland

2002 Portrait Exhibition milford galleries auckland

The Cloak: A Group exhibition milford galleries auckland

PNGHS Te Manawa New Zealand Ballet Exhibition, Parnell Cathedral

2001 Winter Exhibition milford galleries auckland

Rees/ Cleverley/ Binding milford galleries auckland

2000 Artists Chairs milford galleries auckland

1999 Looking South Milford Galleries Dunedin

1998 A Special Place Warwick Henderson Galleries

New Zealand Now Warwick Henderson Galleries

1997 The Subject of Object Milford Galleries Dunedin

New Zealand Real Milford Galleries Dunedin

Elizabeth Rees 2010 CV Milford Galleries Dunedin www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

P a g e | 3

1996 Buy By Tender Chiaroscuro Gallery

1995 Aids Foundation Chiaroscuro Gallery

1994 Modern Myth Chiaroscuro Gallery

1993 Portray Portrait Morgan LeFay Gallery

1992 Chiaroscuro Show Chiaroscuro Gallery

AWARDS

1989 Birkenhead Art Award (Merit)

COLLECTIONS

Kensington Swan

Private collections within New Zealand and internationally including a major private collection in the

USA

SELECTED ARTICLES (as attached) 1999 Kerr, Elizabeth J, ‘Momentum: New Work by Elizabeth Rees’, Art New Zealand, issue 93,

Summer, 1999/2000

1994 Unger, Pat, ‘The Theatre of Disintegration: The Paintings of Elizabeth Rees’, Art New

Zealand, issue 73, Summer, 1994/95

1994 Mannion, Robert, ‘Painting a Bright Future’, The Dominion, Saturday October 22, 1994

Light Air (2009)