23rd November 2023 – 18th February 2024
The Small Gallery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Toni Harrower is an abstract systems painter who loves working in a range of mediums from oil paint to resin. Since graduating from Gray’s School of Art in 2016, Toni has exhibited her work all over the UK and has curated numerous group exhibitions as well as solo shows. Her works have been collected in public and private collections worldwide and she is represented by New Blood Art and Art Gazette. Toni is a member of the Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) Council which is a contemporary art platform for national and international artists.
‘My paintings follow a ‘system’ and a set of restraints that determine colour, composition and scale. Working from a colour-coded alphabet, the titles for each painting are extremely important as they are the starting point for making; from this point, each piece follows a basic set of rules – working from left to right, top to bottom.
I explore the physicality of paint in line with my interest in dementia. Working in a repetitious manner, I create individual patterns and repeated geometric shapes which form a grid-like structure. The grids provide a level of control over the paint which is otherwise unrestricted.
The build-up of layers expresses the passing of time. As the paint gains depth and weight, gravity and a lack of control come into play, causing the paint to fall away, with cells merging into one another. In many ways, the paintings relate to uncontrollable events that happen in life, and several pieces imply the notion of the mind – and life – falling apart.’
Website: www.toniharrower.co.uk
Instagram: @toni_harrower_painting