Colleen Guiney's paintings tread beautifully between representation and abstraction, with the landscape of her region as a main inspiration point. There is a softness to her work that speaks to the artist's appreciation and respect of the natural world. 

Colleen's artwork is known for the richness and depth in her surfaces, each layer conceals or reveals aspects, a delicate push and pull as the art making process unfolds. 

Everything In Between marks Colleen's seventh solo exhibition at Boom, we are excited to show these wonderful paintings and support a fellow Regional Victorian in her arts practice. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Colleen’s paintings represent the physical act of painting and the inner calmness that occurs when she paints. In the making of her paintings, she expresses something that is felt rather than observed and has developed a methodology through layers of texture, colour and intuitive marks and shapes that reference the natural landscape around her. Colour is the most important element of her work and getting it right is key to knowing when a painting is working, or when it is finished.

"I find myself spending more time in nature than ever before and it has become the ultimate inspiration for the work. Here I share the trees, the sea, the hills through my interior landscape. 

For this series my painting process began with quiet contemplation, experimenting with colours and as my palette evolved, landscapes appeared and it felt like I was collaborating with nature; these works were rarely planned; the trees found where they belonged within the artworks.  

While I painted, thoughts were fleeting as I contemplated life with an air of calm."

BIO

Colleen Guiney is an artist living in the south-west coast of Victoria. She has exhibited widely including recent solo shows at Boom Gallery and Michael Reid Northern Beaches. Career highlights include solo exhibitions at Pigment Gallery in the Nicholas Building and First Site Gallery, RMIT. Colleen was a finalist in the Lethbridge Landscape Art Prize, Cambridge St Gallery Life Abstracted art prize and has been featured in The Artist Issue of Country Style Magazine. She has also been a finalist in the Williamstown and Waverley Art Prize.

Colleen lives in Port Fairy, and with her partner operates Drift House, an award-winning small hotel known for its design aesthetic. Her work is woven into the design, including two feature murals in the establishment.