Inward 2022, wood, acrylic, varnish. Approximately 68cm x 68cm.
Belle Kushner created Inward, Outward, Tower as a was a way of exploring the relationship between science and spirituality; after research into quantum entanglement theory led her to question if the two needed to be mutually exclusive, she began to research and observe natural forms on microscopic and macroscopic levels, from atomic diagrams, to shapes of seeds, to solar systems. Noticing the recurrence of certain shapes throughout the spectrum of scale, she began to take them out of context and repeat them in her paintings until they looked unrecognisable.
Kushner rebuilt the forms into commanding, otherworldly compositions which mix organic shapes with more geometric patterns, transporting the viewer to what feels like another dimension, another way of seeing. Kushner drew on spiritual practices to create her work, applying meditative methodology to her creations. Each work is designed on instinct; she starts painting with no plan where it is going. Moving forward, to ground the work further in traditional spiritual or religious art styles, she elected to hand-paint all three pieces on wood but execute the folkloric practice into symmetrical designs to honour the mystery and intricacy of the structure of nature; starting from 'Inward', next 'Outward' and realising this process with her sculpture 'Tower'.
Outward 2022, wood, acrylic, varnish. Approximately 68cm x 68cm.
Tower 2022, wood, acrylic, varnish. Approximately 220cm x 68cm.