Elizabeth Newman: Drawings is a close study of a body of work that resists easy categorisation — minimalist in appearance yet shot through with deadpan humour, these drawings occupy a distinct register from Newman's paintings and quietly subvert the explanatory impulse of the medium.
About This Book
Where painting tends toward resolution, Elizabeth Newman's drawings open onto something more elusive. Rooted in a pursuit of authentic, primitive expression, they carry an irony that Newman herself finds difficult to account for — a quality she notices but cannot fully explain. This tension between seriousness and amusement, between the deadpan and the playful, gives the work its particular charge. The book pairs the drawings with two illuminating interviews: a conversation with artists Francis Plagne and Helen Hughes, and a separate interview with Erik Jensen. Together they trace Newman's creative process, her relationship to drawing as a distinct practice, and the ideas that animate her approach to artmaking.
Key Features
- Contributors include Francis Plagne, Helen Hughes, and Erik Jensen
- Published by Neon Parc
What You'll Discover
- How Newman distinguishes drawing from painting as a conceptual and emotional practice — and why the former permits a humour the latter resists
- The role of deadpan irony in minimalist work, and how apparent simplicity can generate dynamic interpretive tension
- Newman's own articulation of her search for authenticity and primitive expression, revealed through candid interview
- Critical perspectives from Francis Plagne, Helen Hughes, and Erik Jensen that contextualise Newman's practice within broader currents in contemporary art
About the Author
Elizabeth Newman is an Australian artist whose practice spans drawing and painting. Her minimalist works are characterised by a pursuit of authentic expression and a distinctive undercurrent of irony. The book also features contributions from Francis Plagne, Helen Hughes, and Erik Jensen.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: [Details available upon request]
- Dimensions: [Details available upon request]
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780994538888
- Publisher: Neon Parc
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Artists, curators, and art writers interested in Australian contemporary practice, minimalism, and the relationship between drawing and painting as distinct conceptual modes.