“Moments”
Michael Reid, Sydney, Australia 2023.
Amber Stokie describes this collection of paintings as a “slow build of depth and dimension” where a focus on texture and colour is used to create immersive paintings that continue her investigation of the emotional experiences that come with living in today’s world.
Through the skilful use of layering, Stokie’s paintings reflect her fascination with life’s ever-changing journey in which diverse events and unpredictable encounters shape our experiences and identity. Her use of bold and unexpected bursts of colour throughout her paintings could be read as moments, turning points, or events of significance, an approach that evokes a sense of fascination and constant discovery after lengthy observation. Stokie perceives herself as an optimist, carefully selecting a palette that evokes a sense of joy and contemplative connection.
Stokie constructs her work with layers of oil paint and pure pigment, materials that allow for alchemic and often unpredictable outcomes retaining an immediacy in the work. The temporal nature of this body of work, both in its physical and conceptual construction alludes to the relationship between the passing of time and the development of our life’s narratives.
These works, with their lively and complex surfacers, invite close inspection and closer introspection.