jane
fitzherbert

ABOUT JANE:

Jane had an eye for colour and form that couldn’t be taught, and drew from the natural and built world to create abstract work that is accessible and resonant. Starting from a recognisable subject, she would often extend a painting further and further into abstraction, always with an eye for the aesthetics of colour, tone and balance.

At other times, starting with simple mark making, her work took on a more recognisable form. Her lush use of colour, even in cool tones, exhibits a warmth and depth that is enticing. The marks, often dynamic and seemingly spontaneous, create a tension within an abstract landscape that is left for the viewer to interpret. Her more figurative work is notable for its loose, energetic brushwork. Again, the lushness of her colour palette provides depth and warmth.

Jane worked almost every day in her studio in Launching Place until early 2018, when at the age of 88 and after preparing more than 50 new canvases in the four months leading up to the event, she had her final solo exhibition On the Edge at The Memo, Healesville. She declared after this that her painting days were over, that she had ‘no more to say’ and, true to her word, did not pick up a paintbrush again. She died in Healesville in 2021 at the age of 91.

Jane described her artistic philosophy in this way: ‘When it comes to abstract painting, I feel that a work should stand on its own without a title, or any explanation from the artist, that might confine the viewer’s ideas to a particular interpretation. I prefer to leave it to the observer’s own imagination to find meaningful content in my paintings. This creates a two-way dialogue, which is important to me, and allows the viewer to see in the work whatever is meaningful to them. My method is to start painting with no fixed idea of the outcome, and at some point the painting itself takes over and I am led to follow. This is what makes the process so exciting and unexpected.’

Jane’s Retrospective exhibition - Making Her Mark - at YAVA from 27 January - 27 February 2023

JOURNEYS: A LIFETIME OF ARTISTRY

PAINTING AND CERAMICS BY JANE FITZHERBERT

With a career spanning five decades, Jane Fitzherbert was one of the Yarra Ranges most significant visual artists. This exhibition presents a curated selection of works from her studio to highlight her unique and exceptional ceramic and painting practice. This posthumous celebration acknowledges Jane’s substantial contribution to the region’s creative community.

THE MEMO Gallery

16 June - 6 August 2023

Launch event 2pm - 4pm, Saturday 17 June.

Medium: abstract painting
Tags: mixed media, canvas, abstract landscapes, abstract figures