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Visible, Invisible, Veiled

'Visible, Invisible, Veiled’ began in 2015 when broken grids appeared unexpectedly in a painting inspired by Virginia Woolf’s first novel ‘The Voyage Out'.

Voyage Out Land and Sea is full of rich reds, vibrant yellows and a multitude of blues. There are many circles representing the sun and the moon. The bottom two thirds of the canvas is covered in the shape of a blue aqueduct - or waves? More broken grids appear at the base. This significant painting started Ruth's Visible, Invisible, Veiled series exploring these broken grids. Oil on canvas, 100 x 100cm.
Voyage Out: Land & Sea 100cm x 100cm, oil on canvas

 

 

The ‘Voyage Out: Land and Sea’ led directly to ‘In a state of osmosis’, the first painting exploring natures broken grids.

 

At the time I wrote in my journal:

 

'And there is also the thought that the grids represent a veil - allowing glimpses beneath, whilst also distorting and hiding, shading, holding back. Is this something to do with the spirit - which is unseen and yet its presence is felt, known, acknowledged and simultaneously hidden from view?’

In a state of osmosis is an abstract artwork by Ruth Dent. The first in the Visible, Invisible, Veiled series. An oil on canvas in yellow, blue, green and red with multiple layers of broken grids.
In a State of Osmosis 100cm x 100cm, oil on canvas
In a Liminal Zone, 100 x 100cm, oil on canvas
In a Liminal Zone, 100 x 100cm, oil on canvas
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Lighting up the Sky at Night, 100 x 100cm, oil on canvas
Lighting up the Sky at Night, 100 x 100cm, oil on canvas

These paintings celebrate life, nature, the feminine and the spirit, aiming to capture the exhilaration of connection through colour, gesture and material.

What is held within, 190 x 140cm (image 160 x 140cm), acrylic on cotton
What is held within, 190 x 140cm (image 160 x 140cm), acrylic on cotton
What is beyond, 176 x 140 (image 136 x 140), acrylic on cotton
What is beyond, 176 x 140 (image 136 x 140), acrylic on cotton
Orbital, 84 x 84cm, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque handmade paper
Orbital, 84 x 84cm, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque handmade paper

Nature is full of broken grids. Walking in the woods I observed their changing colours and appearance, asking ‘is nature hiding’ and ‘what is nature hiding’, as well as considering whether “a broken grid relates to breaking out?”.

 

Sun on my Face, 84 x 84cm, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque handmade paper
Sun on my Face, 84 x 84cm, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque handmade paper
Sun on my face
Wind pushing back my hair
I imagine levitating
And then dissipating
Into the green
Of the air
What it reveals, 100 x 100cm (4 x 50 x 50cm), acrylic on canvas
What it reveals, 100 x 100cm (4 x 50 x 50cm), acrylic on canvas

'What it hides' was laid over the four sections of 'What it reveals' and the two were painted at the same time.  After every colour the canvas and knotted linen thread were allowed to dry separately.  The canvases were rotated 90º between the each colour.

What it hides, 120 x 120cm, acrylic on linen thread
What it hides, 120 x 120cm, acrylic on linen thread
Les Libellules, an acrylic on canvas painting by Ruth Dent, inspired by dragonflies on the River Lot. A moving, watery background in greys and pale golds is covered with lines in blue, red and turquoise - the dragonflies, flitting over the surface. On top, broken grids formed from rich gold and copper frame the image. 183 x 183cm. Contemporary abstract art.
Les Libellules, 183 x 183cm, acrylic on canvas
What am I?
Skimming o’er the mirror,
Glimmers of light,
Iridescent rainbows,
Dancing in flight.
Hovering o’er the surface,
Cavorting left and right,
Dazzling jewels,
A beguiling sight.
Skimming o’er the mirror,
Dancing in the light,
Iridescent rainbows,
Glimmering in flight
… a dragonfly

In these later paintings within the series, pathways appeared: through the forest, around a stupa or within a labyrinth, referencing memories of Ajanta (India) and Chartres (France), where I had walked the Labyrinth.

Pathways ll, 84 x 84cm, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque handmade paper
Pathways ll, 84 x 84cm, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque handmade paper
Parcourir le Labyrinthe de Chartres, 28 x 30cm circles in 4 lines, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque paper
Parcourir le Labyrinthe de Chartres, 28 x 30cm circles in 4 lines, acrylic on Moulin de Larroque paper
Escape 1, 92 x 92cm, acrylic on canvas
Escape 1, 92 x 92cm, acrylic on canvas
Escape ll, 92 x 92cm, acrylic on canvas
Escape ll, 92 x 92cm, acrylic on canvas