Treelines and Shadows is Gina Bruce’s third solo exhibition. The 30 year old artist has been a finalist in the prestigious Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales three years running. She has been awarded many prizes including the Denise Hickey Studio Residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris.

“Bruce is a young artist who has made striking progress over the past few years by paring away everything that is extraneous to the image she wants to capture These are slow pictures that grow steadily more engaging as one spends time in their presence, and this is always a good sign.”

John Macdonald, Natural Wonders, Sydney Morning Herald, April 23 2005

Treelines and Shadows is an exhibition of new tempera paintings. Images were abstracted from places known well to the artist, around Sydney and also the Lue, Mudgee area. The theme Treelines and Shadows references Bruce’s previous solo exhibition Monuments and Shadows while also moving into new territory. This exhibition is loosely inspired by the imagery in the book The Secret River, by Kate Grenville, which explores themes of Australia’s colonial and indigenous past inhabiting the Australian bush.

The Paintings were created using tempera, with a process of putting paint on and taking it off. Thin layers were built up in this way. Bruce’s choice of egg tempera reflects her interest in watercolour painting, as well as a desire to explore a more textural medium and one which requires an interest in the chemistry of making paints and gesso grounds. She has been working in tempera since 2001 when it was introduced to her at the National Art School, Sydney.