Tassie does not limit herself to one medium and tackles each new process with precision. Her absence of allegiance to a single medium reflects her interest in painters who prefer to move back and forth between the figurative and non-figurative in painting. Her approach reveals the abstract patterns in her surroundings, much like Californian painter Richard Diebenkorn, Tassie searches constantly for compelling compositions of architectural space.
Perhaps best known for her large-scale canvases using a limited colour pallet and nuanced use of abstracted form, travel has been the impetus for more recent work. A trip to Colombia resulted in a series of paintings with brighter colours and softer more organic forms. However, there is a considered visual language applied across all her canvases and work on paper. The media may vary, her preoccupations remain consistent.
Selection of Tassie Russell's work
Tassie's photographic work is consistent with the concerns expressed in the larger non-figurative paintings. Her photographs are cinematic in scope. Dense blocks of solemn colour haemorrhage soft light, revealing their interior life. Rendering each subject both familiar and uncommon in a single shot.
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About the author
Paul Barratt
Paul Barratt started working in contemporary art galleries in 1989, having graduated in Fine Art from Goldmsith’s, London University. He initially worked at Anthony d’Offay Gallery, one of the contemporary art dealers, who dominated the London art market in the 80s and 90s. He was approached by the Lisson Gallery to be gallery manager for the influential art dealer Nicholas Logsdail. This was followed by a short period in New York at Gladstone Gallery, to work for visionary art dealer Barbara Gladstone, working with the artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney.
On his return to London, Paul secured a place on the postgraduate curatorial course at the Royal College of Art, to complete an MA. After graduation in 2001, he worked as an independent curator on several projects in Oslo, London, Brighton and Basel, before joining Paul Vater at his design agency Sugarfree in 2004. He has worked with Paul ever since.
