Inga Dalrymple lives and works on Gadigal land, Sydney, Australia. Her works use formal elements of colour, line and shape to capture fleeting impressions of her surroundings, experiences and memories to create paintings that are layered with different narratives.
Inga embraces the abstract quality of memory, whilst also demonstrating the evocative power of colour and brushwork. Her dynamic and rhythmic compositions are imbued with an energy and vitality that echoes the blurriness of memory. The delicate nuances of line and colour within her paintings tell a vivid story that invites the an emotional response from the viewer. Much of her work engages in a conversation with the materiality of paint, allowing the medium to inform the mood and narrative of the painting.
In order to create her abstract compositions, Inga immerses herself in the landscape - both natural and urban - collecting observations and experiences. She keenly considers the way a shadow falls along the wall, or how different colours reflect off the surface of a shiny apple in the sun, constantly examining her physical surroundings. “I take pleasure in noticing the subtleties of my environment,” explains the artist, “whether it is the colour-faded sign on the side of a brick wall, or the last minutes of daylight projecting silhouettes of dancing trees onto the grass.” Inga masterfully plays of the unseen beauty of the everyday world, transforming her observations into transfixing layers of paint and texture. Subtle fragments of these observations are hidden within her paintings, adding a powerful element of familiarity to images that are otherwise highly abstract.
Music, poetry and the idea of ‘other worlds’ also informs Inga’s work. The artist is fascinated by how different words, images and sounds can transport someone to ‘another world’ that presents an escape from reality. Inga responds to the power of music and poetry to evoke a memory, emotion and sensation. She believes that colour, line and tone has the same effects as words and tune, as different arrangements evoke different stories and experiences. “Like words, colour can evoke harmony or discord, peace or violence,” explains Inga. “Colour combinations behave like sentences, creating unfolding narratives and visual journeys.” Inga’s work feeds on all things that make life beautiful, whether this be a simple ray of light in a room or a complex and visceral sonnet.