Jane Collins

Jane's artistic medium of choice at present is the unusual and extremely exacting art of Intaglio etching and also screen printing, where she exhibits an exquisite sensitivity to colour and texture. Her subject matter is often the human form, abstractly portrayed and frequently with metaphysical references. It is rare to find an artist as conscious as Jane is of the "presence" to be found in negative space and to use that space to fill us with the expectancy. Jane knows that less is more. In this sense of knowing precisely when "enough is enough" one may place Jane's work in the category of "minimalist art." However there is something "warm" about Jane's work which is often missing from the work of other "minimalist" practitioners. Jane's work has a human touch. I have heard her talk about how much she loves her beautiful papers and her inks and her tools and textiles, and I believe the "human warmth" in her work comes from the tender feelings she has for these materials that bring so much joy to her life. Jane's work on superb paper is beautiful to look at and to hold and there is not a mark out of place. It is so pure it almost has a quality to "cleanse."

I look forward to holding Jane's first Australian exhibition at Gallery Tokonoma in October 2007.