“I want the gallery space to be full of energy, and I think as long as people feel that and get some life from it, then that's okay. I don't know that I would ever want to be didactical or pre-prescribe a narrative for anyone. Something can be familiar, but also energetic. I wouldn't want to force anyone to feel anything different than that. It’s like any good work. As an artist, you would want it to offer more than that, but you cannot control that part.”
© John Devlin for The Scotsman, 11 December 2019
P ainted in breathless lines and brushstrokes, in Rebel France-Lise McGurn depicts relaxed figures in neon sprawling across the canvas. The Glasgow-based artist is known for her atmospheric practice bringing the viewer into her personal life in her fluid washes of color and immersive sense of movement and energy. She draws on a collected archive of found imagery to create figurative installations which express notions of sexuality, ecstasy, loss and consciousness. The main element in her practice is fluidity, depicting figures that occupy her imagination. She presents women and men often in a state of undress presenting in ecstasy and agony. Her sitters are free and unconstrained in an air of euphoria, conveying intimacy, sexuality, and ecstacy. She was distinguished in her 2019 solo exhibition at the Tate Britain titled Sleepless where she mounted a site specific exhibition where her figures sprawled on canvas and directly against the walls, ceiling and floors.
