City Girl | Yellow and Blue Print

CITY GIRL is a collection of new paintings by London-based artist Iona Rowland. The series was inspired by a poem of the same name by Twilight Prince - he says “city girl, feel beyond all physical realms and prosper”. The focal point of each painting is a freestyle screenprint of a female figure who Iona felt “encompassed the lyrics of the poem”. The figure - CITY GIRL - is amongst a composite of cascading trees, pelicans in flight and abstract motifs, all set against vibrant blue, green and yellow colour fields. Each work riffs between the seductiveness of city life - fast-paced and hedonistic; and the soft, soothing qualities of the natural world. “Personally I’m drawn to both realms and I wanted to interrogate the relationship between the two - are they conflicting or co-existing and is there potential for them to harmonise?” The artist’s pursuit of an urban utopia emanates from her complex compositions which are meticulously planned out before becoming playgrounds for improvisation. As she works into each layer, Iona allows for chance marks, bleeds and colour gradients to occur. With every unexpected brush stroke, paint drip, overprint or underprint, the composition mutates. “I love how the energy of the work can shift with just one impulsive mark. Sometimes the painting will find its way back to the original idea, and often it will divert away from it entirely. I’m constantly adapting, adjusting, revising and remixing. It’s a dynamic process which relies on spontaneity and control in equal measure.” “For me, city life represents control - it’s a clearly defined space in which we can carefully curate so many aspects of our lives. Nature, conversely, is free, unpredictable and expansive. They are completely interwoven in my mind, on my canvases, and hopefully in the future of the city I call home”.