Constance ARI

Kaukenas and Mestitz utilise abstraction to convey a sense of movement within the confines of this blank architectural space. Where the gallery becomes the tabula rasa on, or within, which they leave their imprint. Empty space is defined with colour, form and line which are further accentuated by the juxtaposition of geometric and free-form works. Kaukenas uses multiples of coloured forms suspended within the white space of the gallery producing a formalist aesthetic that both confronts and invites the viewer. The physical properties of colour as they advance and recede, in juxtaposition to each other, pose a retinal challenge. Mestitz plays on our visual perception of lines creating a confusing spatial illusion in the eyes of the viewer. Mestitz deliberately manipulates the gallery wall in combination with the interior space to blur the notion of the wall being a physical support for works.

Ona Kaukenas is currently working on a MFA at the School of Art and is also teaching/tutoring in Art Theory (part-time). Since 2002, she has been exploring the latent energies of architectural space, giving them visual form through geometric constructions and installations. Her fascination with the geometric form continues in her current work, favouring the interaction between the shaped board and the architectural space of the gallery rather than the traditional framed canvas hung as an object on the gallery wall.

Anne Mestitz completed a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania, Centre for the Arts Hobart in 2004. Anne is interested in visual perception, the line in space and the viewers' interactions with sculptural interventions. For the last few years Anne has been working casually as a teacher in the Sculpture Department at the University of Tasmania. Anne has recently participated in the Ten Days on the Island Festival 2005.