Foreshore

In Foreshore, artists Lydia Bassis and Mia Farrington capture the transitory energy of the littoral space of the coastline to explore qualities and experiences that evade verbal explanation. 

Bassis’ paintings contain atmospheric cool tones that echo the color of the sky’s transition into the sea on a foggy morning. This effect is further refined by the kōzo paper Bassis works on, a Japanese mulberry tree paper with distinctive strand-like fibers that interweave across the delicate transparent material. As Bassis builds the surface of her paintings, the different layers of translucent pigment and paper evoke the discovery and wonder of peering into a tidepool, floating in the ocean, or gazing at clouds. Grounding these paintings is the addition of Bassis’ graphic dots, hints of floral formations, and curious pathways constructed from links of crescent curves. These accents offer pathways, acting as markers of memory with personal significance to the artist, and also as guides to the viewer as they navigate the aesthetic and emotional tenor of each piece. 

With this series I’m thinking about the many shapes water takes and how little we see of it when only looking at the surface. Much like most of life, there is more going on than we can easily see.

Lydia Bassis

Similarly aqueous, Farrington’s ink paintings on raw canvas mimic the ebb and flow of waves and highlight the liminal space between objects and elemental forces. Farrington’s paintings are inspired by her time spent in coastal towns, the impressions of which are captured abstractly through her signature rock and pool-like forms, and in the application of her materials. Given the readily absorbent nature of the raw canvas she works on, each shape requires several layers and back-and-forth strokes of ink to create each form. The repetitive and meditative action of her brushstrokes recalls the regularity and rhythm of the ocean’s tides. Farrington’s paintings also capture the atmosphere of the surrounding sand, sun, and foliage, of the water-dependent ecosystems that have given inspiration to this body of work.

Drawing on memory, personal experience, and the universality of the life-sustaining resource of water that encircles our planet, Foreshore explores the interconnections between the visible and invisible forces that surround us, like the ephemeral quality of the land at the edge of the water.

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