Kathy Barber is constantly drawn to the moving colours of the New Zealand landscape: the light on the land, the shaft of light penetrating bush, the horizons where nothingness meets presence, and to the sublime pleasure and awe of being in nature. It is a desire to capture an essence of those feelings - to render those sensations, through mark making into impressions - that lies at the heart of these paintings. SOUTH speaks to an accumulation of experiences in the Central Otago landscape.

The colours are taken directly from the region, where nature clashes with climate. Moss greens vibrate over inky black granite and Manuka pinks flourish amidst the charcoal tones of blackened wood. The use of sticks and leaves as brushes produce an array of organic marks and notations. These weave in and around larger more familiar scripts, cutting through vast blocked areas and voids, where they interact with colour like tangled undergrowth.