Intonation

We are delighted to bring you Intonation, an exhibition of new works by Christina Pataialii. In this new body of work we find paintings that are, in ways, more pared back and minimal than we have seen from Christina in the past. There is a settled sense of harmony that slowly and considerately contemplates the natural world, but they remain, unmistakably, works with her distinct painterly touch. There are familiar forms and gestures repeated, the moon, rolling hills, scrubby energetic clouds and brushwork which are all characteristic of Christina.  

Each work has its own limited tonal palette and is its own tonal exploration. We find a body of work that is exploring a new colour palette - red, orange, peach and olive. Still, they remain familiar, while she doubles back and revisits some of her early and important works, for example, the fluorescent colours used in the portraits from her influential Whitecliffe MFA show (latterly shown at the Adam Art Gallery in The Tomorrow People)

Through her depiction of landscape in these works it is evident that Christina is acutely aware of the legacy of the heavyweights of New Zealand modernist paintings, Colin McCahon, Don Binney and Tony Fominson. We see her exploring and enhancing ideas that they were wrestling with.

For Christina landscapes are also a way to explore the use of light and how subtle shifts in light can change the atmosphere and mood. As is often felt through Christina’s work there is a sense of liminality, of in-betweenness - we see delicate, nuanced changes in tone, emphasis and perspective.