Fastlane
The Liberty of the individual: ‘Beyond Space and Time’
When Andre Breton described his surrealist world as ‘beyond space and time’ he introduced a liberating concept. I have worked to bring into my art new thoughts and feelings seeking after a personal freedom in the aesthetic experience. I want to create artworks that liberate the personality, yet balance the subconscious delights of chance possible in spontaneity and a consciously considered formal arrangement of colours and shapes. My art is concerned with revealing an alternative way to imagine the human condition, and to express the experience of those ideas and thoughts in an exciting aesthetic manner. I hope my paintings open up to viewers an alternative way of sensing life beyond the limits of nature where space and form create a universe of ideas and suggestions that stimulate the imagination.
Biography: Since graduating in Fine Art from Reading University in 1982, Rowena continues to embrace colourfield painting with confidence and passion. In 2010 she relocated from Aberdeen to Glasgow where she exhibits regularly. Her work has been purchased by a number of major public collections and she continues to exhibit regularly at home and abroad.
In 2011 she was shortlisted for the Aspect Prize, exhibiting at the Fleming Collection in London.
In 2012 Rowena was awarded Professional Development funding from Creative Scotland enabling her to accept a residency in America.
Rowena is a professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists and a past president of the Scottish Artists Union, 2011–2014. In 2017 she completed a Mural design for Stalled Spaces, Glasgow City Council, ‘Sheriff Lobby Dosser @ Bill’s Tool Store’
Since 2017 Rowena has mentored Fine Art students at Reading University, as part of the Thrive mentoring service.
From 2016–2019 she served on the Council for the Society of Scottish Artists. During this time she conceived and co-curated the Exhibition ‘Utopia—What’s Yours?’, at Gracefield Arts Centre and Kirkcudbright Museum and Art Gallery where she also provided workshops and curatorial tours.
Cover Credits: Rowena Comrie, Fastlane, Oil on linen, 600x760 mm. © Rowena Comrie