Artworks

Colin Pennock

Reconnecting with the Canvas 

In the late '90s, Colin Pennock lived in New York, working in the commercial art world of illustration and storyboarding. "My painting took a backseat during this time," he recalls, "and I grew frustrated with creating art that was discarded after its temporary use."  He remembers being invited to meet Agnes Martin but declined, saying, "I didn’t know why at the time, but looking back, I was deeply unhappy with not following my path as a painter."

Learning about Martin's decision to leave the hustle of city life for the desert to focus solely on her art resonated with him. "Her paintings are about emptying out the inconsequential to find meaning," Pennock says. "It inspired me to disconnect from that world I had left behind." After returning to Australia, he reconnected with painting, focusing on "the process of mark making, colour, and paint application."  From this, his own style emerged: "That nucleus of abstraction allowed my unique language to evolve."