The artist
Christine Webb.
A life lived between Sydney and Umbria — and painted from both.
Biography
Christine Webb (nee Grieve, 1954) studied at Sydney College of the Arts (Sydney University) and was asked to leave 10 weeks before the end of a four-year course for being the only student already offered a job.
The first stage of her artistic career was as Art Director, Publisher and Editor of the contemporary indie monthly Stiletto Magazine from 1981 till 1989.
In 2000–2011 she relocated to Italy and worked as photographer and painter with her husband, Radio 2JJ co-founder Marius Webb, and their two sons.
Since 2011 Christine has divided her time between Sydney, Australia and her home in Umbria, Italy. She is a full-time artist, exhibiting regular solo exhibitions and teaching One Day Workshops in Colour Theory.
Artist’s statement
I am a figurative, still life artist who paints in acrylic on stretched canvas. My work builds upon other Australian still life painters such as Margaret Preston in the use of Australian flora in the restricted work space of the domestic environment.
My current practice has pushed these limitations with a more esoteric staging that still holds a tangible quality, within the viewer’s immediate spatial boundaries and with a concrete reality. While at once centred and stable, the fragility of the environment is expressed through the use of delicate dried flowers and bush fire blackened banksia.
The symmetry and balance of the works is a quest for calm amidst the current world uncertainty. The use of reflection and transparency is both a literal and spiritual call for truth and serenity.
