||| Online Exhibition |

||| A selection of original works by Michelle Roberts, presented by Project Art Works |

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When first encountering the works of Michelle Roberts the visual feast in front of us draws us into a world that bridges our engagement with her imaginative reality, a reality we share. The titles provide a point of entry and are readily recognisable: films she’s seen, usually musicals, such as ‘Singing in the Rain’, family holidays, ‘Walking the Dogs’, excursions to exhibitions and places, national events seen on television and so on. However, these realities are imaginatively transformed into images of intriguing complexity, both in their overall composition and in the ever-diminishing detail that fill the interlocking, abstract forms and characters that populate the paintings.

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Michelle works slowly and methodically, typically drawing out the composition first which is improvised rather than planned, and completed without hesitation or correction. The composition is then patiently coloured using artist quality felt pens which enable the control and detail she desires. The act of making the work is, of necessity, carried out at close quarters, it’s immersive, her field of vision filled with the evolving image. The viewer is equally and of necessity, drawn into this immersive experience, brief glancing and moving on won’t do. The works, by their very nature, reward slow looking, a process we’re tending to lose touch with the more our attention span is impacted by the digital world.

This slow looking is especially rewarding when viewing Michelle’s folding drawing books. Like the paintings they develop over a period of weeks but unlike them the images are produced sequentially. I don’t know if each image influences its’ neighbour but it’s tempting to imagine the possibility that a narrative is unfolding, if so it’s a narrative without a story. The visual language is recognisably the same but pattern making becomes more pronounced. I think patterns are significant, I can’t tell you why, but pattern-making goes back a long way in our human story and are hard-wired in our DNA. Perhaps it’s the internal logic of patterns that attracts us, or the puzzle-like qualities that absorb our attention.?

As with any enjoyable experience take your time, and savour the delights in front of you.

 

Tony Colley, 2024

 

Written for the exhibition Kaleidoscopic Realms at Nottingham Castle 

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Congratulations to Michelle Roberts, who has been shortlisted for the Sky Arts Awards 2025. 

Michelle was nominated for the award by Artist Bob & Roberta Smith, who first came across Michelle’s work in the Outside In open call, where he selected Michelle as the winner. The prize was a solo exhibition Michelle Roberts: Red Blue Up which opened at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill in February 2025.

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