Sunday Arts Magazine

21 Mar 2022

Debra Winn – Light at fortyfivedownstairs

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Debra Winn – Light at fortyfivedownstairs

‘Light’ celebrates over sixteen years of artwork inspired by life models and dance companies from New York to The Australian Ballet by award winning artist Debra Winn.

This evocative and exciting exhibition brings together sixty-eight original artworks from across all periods of the artist’s career. Many never seen or exhibited before but all showcasing Winn’s highly unique, powerful approach to monotypes.

Beautiful, powerful images of nudes evoking a raw sensitivity created both here and in New York will adorn the walls of the small gallery, while images of dancers’ leap across the walls of the large space at fortyfivedownstairs.

Winn’s introduction the world of dance in New York in 2007 was fortuitous. Inspired by the NYC Ballet’s Artistic Director describing the aesthetic of his dancers as being like Michelangelo’s sculptures resonated with the artist.

Winn became immersed into the world of dance and the joy of creating artwork inspired by dance and dancers. Her artwork is saturated with light and movement.

“With dramatic lighting and beautiful, strong, muscular, lithe, expressive bodies, moving with passion and emotion, it seems so obvious that dance would be a focus for my artwork”

Winn’s dancers and nudes are not depicted in the way one might traditionally imagine, but rather in a dynamic, contemporary combination of expressive abstraction with realism. Winn has created this effect by layering colours onto a copper sheet and then wiping away the etching ink to reveal light and form bringing to life a sculptural and fully modelled figure.

“With the strong element of chance, the abstraction of marks and the unusual textures able to be created with rich etching inks, monotype making is a technique hard to beat,” says Winn.

Winn’s most recent artwork is created from in-situ drawings and photographs made during rehearsals of Alice Topp’s Logos. This was one of The Australian Ballet’s last performances prior to COVID-19, cancelled after Opening Night. The artwork captures the raw power and beauty of the performance.

Visitors to fortyfivedownstairs can expect a transformation into the world of dance as they enter the warehouse-style space. With its wooden floors, high ceiling and beautiful light, it makes the perfect backdrop for Winn’s images. Much like the performances that inspire her, Winn’s works are filled with great emotive energy.

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