Artists to Watch -- Vanessa McKnight

Vanessa McKnight

Producing a photo-realistic representation can be a very non-contemporary venture for most artists, lacking the edgy and heterodox elements that define so many painters of the contemporary canon. There are those, however, who capture the quivering and discreet kinesis of events so carefully that the result pushes the boundary of one's perception.  Through her varied works, Vanessa McKnight places herself among those whose talent and forward-looking aesthetic have given them such liberty as to paint what they see, without being illustrators.  Like Richter's or Rosenquist's, McKnight's images seem to shift ever so slightly when looked upon, as if the subjects were allowed an imperceptible micrometre of movement within their permanently fixed place.

The draw of McKnight's work is further augmented by the scenes she has chosen to paint.  Often capturing moments anticipating an explosive burst or a highly stressed yet silent epiphany, the emotions and events conveyed lend to a sense of tremendous tension -- the subject only restrained from action by the mere fact of it being bound within a two-dimensional artifact.  The style and renderings of McKnight's works seem to be used only to the end that they give life to what we see -- no extraneous or pretentious strokes are made -- and thus the artist is hiding behind the curtain while her production independently exists before us, qualifying her implied belief that, as Oscar Wilde states, "To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim."

For further viewing visit: vanessamcknight.com.