Russian-born artist Maria Lizunova describes her painting as an unfolding of her inner self. With a background in graphic design and jewellery making, painting is the medium that allows her a freedom of expression not possible elsewhere. The rules of design and structural concerns of a silversmith are abolished, and her abstract, expressionistic canvases reveal the unfolding of another self.
When painting, Lizunova tries not to plan or work towards a specific outcome. Her process is spontaneous and experimental, and layers are built up gradually as materials are deployed and manipulated on the canvas. The result is heavily textured canvases, mostly abstract but with some figurative elements. Her palette is limited, often black and white with a splash of colour.
In spite of the freedom of her process, certain repeated structures and patterns can be recognised in Lizunova’s paintings. It may be the meditative nature of her process that promotes this repetition of forms. It may also be an unconscious desire for structure that reveals itself in the unfolding of Lizunova’s inner self. The paintings remain important records of a process, and in the tracks of the artist’s brushstrokes new stories can be unfolded and explored.
Unfolding Freedoms, abstract paintings by Maria Lizunova,Hardware Gallery (263 Enmore Rd, Enmore, Sydney). Opening on Thursday 28 January.