
Angela Heisch
Smokey Poppy, 2020
oil on linen over panel
152.4 x 121.9 cm, 60 x 48 in
Angela Heisch’s biomorphic paintings straddle the line between natural and conscious construction. Unfolding from an ‘origin’ - a horizon line or energy source - the works map a sensation of...
Angela Heisch’s biomorphic paintings straddle the line between natural and conscious construction. Unfolding from an ‘origin’ - a horizon line or energy source - the works map a sensation of incipient growth. In Smokey Poppy, semblances of nature proliferate: an eye-like blue portal emanates vitality, like a life-rich bud projecting a vision of its future flower; a beating heart pumps autumnal blood out toward the edges of the canvas, fading into smooth crepuscular gradients. For all the natural allusions, however, Heisch’s clarity of line, more reminiscent of a Calatrava building than of a sunset, establishes the composition as a deliberate one, opening a space of ambiguity in which an ineffable sense of awe can flourish.