susan simonini ― glimmer

image detail: new sensations, 2024, acrylic on polycotton, 122 x 122  cm

Bursting in a carnival of colours, you feel uplifted when you feast your eyes on the vibrant abstracts of Susan Simonini in Glimmer, her first Handmark exhibition. And it seems she has touched a nerve.

A recent émigré to the island state, Susan’s paintings are generating a buzz, both here and overseas. “I was recently picked up by a Gallery in London, and I am now being chased by another in New York.” Already a well-known artist, Susan credits the rural idyll of her new home in Tasmania’s north-west for sparking inspiration. “My style has certainly changed since moving here to escape the rat race, but the irony is I have never been busier!”

Glimmer, which Susan describes as “a moment that inspires happiness,” is the perfect name for her solo exhibition of new works. “When I paint, I’m in a state of unapologetic joy” and she captures this brilliantly with a vivid palette that vibrates with emotion “compelling our eyes to dance around the canvas.” But, if colour is the star of this show, Susan’s geometric abstraction is a stunning support act.

Susan’s graphic style is informed by the green farms that surround her studio. In Myriad, we gaze down on a patchwork of paddocks where irrigation pipes become hypnotic pinwheels of colour, and in New Sensations sensuous curves replicate tractor marks in lush fields. “This was the last painting I did for Glimmer, and it’s interesting to see how my style has evolved with my markings becoming looser and more spontaneous.”

These pieces hold a special place in Susan’s heart. “Art follows life, and my works have been ignited by my slower pace of life in rural Tasmania. They are the most authentic paintings I have ever done.”

Susan Simonini’s Glimmer exhibition runs at Handmark Gallery from April 12 – 29.