Elixir – Dorryce Rock
Dorryce Rock had her first solo show in 2008 and has been exhibiting every year since, with many private commissions along the way. When asked to describe her style she uses the word ’fluid’, and more reluctantly, ’organic’ – words which also describe her process, where ”everything is poured and manipulated…I don’t use a brush.”
Working with liquid-pigmented oil varnish, she allows it to flow over perspex or canvas where it is manipulated and channelled. It takes Dorryce anywhere between one and six weeks to complete a work. The evolutionary process that takes place as each piece develops, is one that excites and stimulates her.
From her earliest memories, she recalls ”always doing something crafty, painting, putting things together.” Growing up in the 1960s and 70s her parents discouraged her from making a living from her art, impressing upon her that this was, ”not an option as a career path.”
With art ”not the way to go”, Dorryce talks about having ’real’ jobs in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and working in a photography business. ”What fascinated me [about photography] was the colours, and being able to manipulate stuff.”
Citing American artist Georgia O’keefe as her greatest influence, Dorryce’s paintings have been described as ”organic, luminous…reflecting her ongoing relationship with nature, colour and form.”
”I always start with a color in mind…usually with three. Sometimes I know exactly what I want it to be, sometimes it evolves. I intuitively know when [a painting] is finished… when it has the energy and formation I think it should have. Sometimes I over-work it, then I just scrap it.”
Dorryce works from a dedicated basement studio at home, often through the night: ”I need to be around because of the nature of the chemicals and the way I work.”
When asked about how she would like an audience to react to her work, Dorryce is clear that she’s not making a statement, instead ”making for the act of making…[the work] is emotional, not intellectual, an expression of how I feel, or what I’m doing.”
Artist – Dorryce Rock
Elixir
Dorryce Rock
Opening 30 October, 6 – 8 PM
Showing 28 October – 10 November 2014
357 New South Head Road, Double Bay – Sydney
10am – 4pm Tuesday
10am – 7pm Wednesday
10am – 7pm Thursday
10am – 7pm Friday
10am – 4pm Saturday
10am – 4pm Sunday