ANA CATALINA VICUÑA – Tides – 18 June-12 July 2019

‘It began as an exercise, an experiment.
surrounded by water,
stepping on loose lands,
this was a way to accept my own reality:
temporary, suspended, and vulnerable.
Searching the void,
freeing the mind of thoughts, images, and words,
I understood how white space,
just like silence,
has meaning.
As tides, sometimes high,
and sometimes low,
this exercise became a ritual,
my prison and refuge,
…my infinite habit.’

With a light touch, Ana Catalina Vicuña has brought into existence seven individual watercolours and one large composite work that gently claim the gallery walls. Vicuña is a Chilean artist, now resident in New Zealand. She has exhibited in Chile, France, Spain, USA and New Zealand. This is her first one-person exhibition in Christchurch since 2004 and we are delighted to host it.

ARTISTS TALK: Tues 25 June, 12pm.
Ana Catalina Vicuna and Tim J. Veling will each talk about their exhibitions and how their approach has developed.
Free entry, all welcome.
    
    

Ana Catalina Vicuña work exhibits lightness of touch and deep respect for the process of making. Often she has painted undulating fields that flicker across the surface. At other times she has embroidered onto linen, her marks being stitched threads. Her recent works are watercolour on paper. The watercolour sits delicately on the surface and appears to flow according to an internal current. It is as if, through her gesture, she is witnessing passing moments.

Born in Chile in 1977, Ana Catalina Vicuña originally trained as a graphic designer. In 2002 she moved to Christchurch, New Zealand and started her artistic career. Three years later, she returned to Chile and her work has been exhibited widely, in solo and group exhibitions in Chile and abroad (France, Spain, USA and New Zealand); also in international art fairs, such as Slick Art Fair (Paris, 2013) and Art al Vent (Spain, 2015). Ana Catalina’s work is part of private collections, such us Masisa Company and Talca University. She moved back to New Zealand and has been living and working here since 2017.