Ragna Bley

Opening reception: Thursday 15 May, 6–8pm

Pilar Corrias is pleased to present Move Baby, Move, Ragna Bley’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. For this exhibition, Bley examines the unseen forces that influence us, shaping our focus and sense of self. In a time when both humanity and nature are in a state of constant flux, Bley creates a vivid, transportive universe through her paintings. Her approach is deeply personal, drawing on her own sense of place, the unpredictable power of nature and a desire to experiment with the materiality of paint.

Bley’s painterly environments encourage you towards introspection, moving you between the concreteness of paint and other worldly places. Incorporating snow gathered from just outside her studio in Oslo, Bley soaks the snow in paint and waits for this to melt, connecting to a sense of movement between transience and permanence in her work. Snow becomes a medium by which Bley constructs and directs her canvases, tying her work to the Nordics in a literal and symbolic way. The parameters of paint, canvas, water, snow and the movement of her body and time, serve as the physical portals for Bley’s abstracted world-making.

The large, sweeping brushstrokes that define much of Bley’s recent work, are developed using spatulas and custom-made tools, rather than traditional brushes. This method induces a mechanical aspect which is controlled, but not fully, and allows for painterly gestures to be disguised. The paint absorbs into the canvas through the application of pressure and the passage of time. This process, and collaboration with the materials and their interactions, results in a dynamic tension between intention and unpredictability, giving the paintings a life of their own. The careful balance of technique and spontaneity speaks to Bley’s dedication to both the technical and emotional dimensions of her work, reinforcing her ability to navigate the forces she seeks to embody and explore.