(Im)perfection

Painter Nadja Kabriel works from her studio in the NSW Northern Rivers town of Bangalow on Bundjalung country. Nadja studied a Bachelor of Art History and Theory at College of Fine Arts, UNSW and Bachelor of Fine Arts at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and received an award for academic excellence.

“These paintings are responses to my surroundings and my place in them. For me the thoroughly enjoyable process of oil painting is almost entirely visceral. I believe painting removes the veils that prevent us from seeing. And by veils I mean the bombardment of information and stimuli designed to demand and occupy our attention.

My inspiration for a painting comes when I see in a new light the objects that I normally walk past unnoticed. By painting them from this new perspective I return myself to reality. I can feel the familiar timelessness of a jar of jam, a cup of tea sitting on the table, the thoughtful designs of fabrics that make our homes warm and the extraordinary forms and patterns that occur in flora.

As humans we are always trying to make sense of our place and deal with the truth of our mortal position in the world, so by paying attention, my primary objective is to return myself to reality, to the present, to something that will make us feel connected and at home”.