Jordaan

About the Item: Angela A’Court composes pared down still life drawings based on in-depth visual studies of
flowers which allow her to explore formalist and spatial interests. A colorist at heart, she finds a wealth of possibility in the variance and patterning of natural forms. A’Court takes careful consideration while composing her observed and imagined spaces. She impresses her observations into the plane with thickly applied pigments. Layering and mark making creates a rhythm. When these elements are married with complimentary colors, they vibrate with life. A’Court's practice is tactile—not only in the physical act of drawing, but also in her study of her chosen subject.
A’Court describes holding the flower stem as she draws, observing its veins and petals to
uncover how it is structured. She recounts the process in almost scientific terms, turning the
form over in her hands. Hyacinths, Day Two and Measuring Jug were inspired by a visit to a
scientist friend’s home and seeing her botanical cuttings. At times, however, personal meaning
is assigned to a flower and becomes a fully realized work. In Belonging, the artist depicts
anemones which she received after becoming an American citizen.
Well-balanced with a clear focus, the pastel compositions are carefully constructed. A’Court
plays with space and depth. The leaves and petals exist in color planes with often only the
suggestion of a corner or edge to orient the viewer. Her experimentation with spatial planes and
her use of bold palettes is reminiscent of Henri Matisse and the Fauvists—an early 20th century
art movement that emphasized color over realism. A’Court’s focus on still lifes also brings Dutch
Masters and ideas of sparse and interior private lives. Her paintings are undoubtedly brimming
with life and seek to render the ephemerality and transitory moments of plants as in our own
lives.