Greta McMahon
Riebeek Kasteel
Greta McMahon is an educator and a mixed media abstract painter.
MessageThrough the act of painting I focus on integrating aspects of our somewhat polarised existence into an experience of wholeness, awareness and openness.My art process evolves around the desire to communicate, connect and to create a powerful transmission.I create images in a non- linear way and records and maps the reverberation of the quiet, space and the void.
Listening and engaging with stillness through the practice of meditation and contemplation provides a map to navigate, to find meaning and home.
I have participated in numerous group and six solo exhibitions in South Africa, Ireland and Holland and my artworks have been included in the corporate collections of the Hollard Group, Strauss, Nando’s and Spier, as well as in private collections in South Africa, the USA, the UAE, Holland, Norway, the UK and Ireland. In 2005 I was an Absa L’Atelier Art Competition finalist.I hold a BA in fine arts from the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art.
Statement
Painting is a way of mapping and expressing my interior landscape which simultaneously acts as a mirror of the external world. These maps can guide one home, are embedded with wisdom and can lead one towards a deeper understanding of oneself.
As an abstract painter I rely solely on the inherent energy of materials, colour, texture, shapes and brushstroke to articulate and express my thoughts, feelings and ideas. Since the picture plane rarely offers anything representational, these elements become the very essence of my visual vocabulary.
The painting process is a ritual and a ceremony which restores the self into a balanced whole."