The subjective perception of colour and light is a primary subject of these recent large-scale paintings by David Serisier.
The geometric simplicity and scale of the paintings allows the viewer to enter into a direct experience of colour which is itself the meaning of the work, and we are free to bring our own associations and memories to bear on the experience.
Serisier’s colours are sourced from art, architecture and natural circumstance via an intriguing process in which they are juxtaposed and re-formed through the painting process.
Working in his studio at nearby ‘Summer Hill’, Orange, Serisier began this series by establishing an initial, and seemingly arbitrary set of parameters within which the work evolved.
Working from photographs of the American conceptual and performance artist James Lee Byars’ (1932–1997) artworks installed at the Benrath Palace in Düsseldorf and its surrounding parkland, Serisier zeroed in on particular elements to establish an initial range of colours for the series, which he then mixed using oil paints, marble dust and waxes.
Allowing circumstances around him to inform and influence the relationships within the paintings, Serisier introduced new hues observed throughout the course of the day and night in and around the studio and garden, such as a deep evening blue or a dusty pink sky.
The colours gathered from there modified and were, in turn transformed by, colours extracted from here.
Image: David Serisier, Benrath Diamond (orange), 2023, oil on linen, 283.5cm x 283.5cm
Photograph: Robin Hearfield