delmonte is a collaboration between two artists with very different styles to painting. Working jointly on the same painting in a response to music and sound brings these styles together to create a new language, a visual dialogue which combines diverse elements of harmony and discord, noise and silence. Helen McMahon’s paintings exude a still quietness where smooth, blended, muted colours invite a contemplative space. In contrast, Jason Robinson paints with an energy where bright, impasto colours applied to the canvas move and shout.
Despite these differences, each artist nonetheless shares a similar approach to making abstract paintings by working quickly, intuitively and instinctively. Working together on the same painting, a melodic base is laid creating a sense of place, a space for a narrative, however ambiguous and abstract, to develop and explores the idea of creating a new aesthetic with a discordant harmony.
delmonte is Helen McMahon and Jason Robinson. They work and share a studio in London SE1.
