Wayfinding – A Painter’s Path

Michael Reid Sydney is delighted to present a spectacular exhibition of sweeping and sublime landscapes by celebrated West Australian painter Carly Le Cerf. Titled Wayfinding: A Painter’s Path, this new series is a towering achievement from Le Cerf and will be celebrated with an opening reception at the gallery on Thursday, 31 July, 6–8pm.

“The original idea was simple,” says Le Cerf, discussing the making of her Wayfinding series for what is her first Eora/Sydney solo show in more than two years. “Create pieces so immersive that when you stand in front of them, your whole body is held by the land – no sky, just earth – inviting a full-body experience. What I didn’t anticipate was just how much these works would ask of me in return.” Pushing horizon lines to the very edge of the canvas, the vast topographical paintings of Wayfinding envelop the viewer in the red centre’s tones and textures, emotional resonance and elemental heft.

“Le Cerf’s intention is to express awe – that powerful and universal emotion,” writes art adviser Sarah Hetherington in the exhibition catalogue. “To be overwhelmed with feelings of reverence, admiration, even fear, in response to that which is grand, sublime and powerful.” Wayfinding is the ultimate expression of this soulful intensity – an outback odyssey that charts not only landforms traversed but interior routes forged through experience and intuition.

The force of Le Cerf’s work lies partly in her masterful approach to materiality, managing to zoom out to the vast sweep of the landscape while zeroing in on its granular details. “The process of layering and excavation is central,” says the artist. “It is an ongoing negotiation between what is concealed and what is exposed – a push and pull between opacity and translucency, grit and sheen, density and light. The result is a surface that feels alive: a shifting interplay of materials that rewards close, sustained looking.”

Wayfinding: A Painter’s Path is a major accomplishment from one of the great epic poets of the Australian landscape – one who continues to beat her own singular track across the contemporary art field. To discuss works from the series, please email danielsoma@michaelreid.com.au