Fleeting Permanence

Carrie Jean Goldsmith’s newest exhibition, Fleeting Permanence, centres on the wonder of paint, texture and light. 

Fleeting Permanence may initially sound like an oxymoron but in fact perfectly describes the fleeting nature of expressionistic painting. Goldsmith’s abstracted landscapes in natural tones are built from initial decisions of format, scale and palette, before leading into inevitable morphing of strokes. Her exploratory edges lead into gestural marks that are made, then sometimes wiped away. New paintings often form on top of original ideas, yet some phantom glimpses of previous forms may creep through, providing nuances that could never be planned.

‘Fleeting Permanence’ presents the full fervour of Goldsmith’s latest explorations and conclusions in paint, revealing the results of enabling the planned and unplanned to come together in harmony. The deep tones of brown, green, grey and blue that are often found in Goldsmith’s work require careful lighting to reveal their full power to the audience.

Carrie Jean Goldsmith uses various media to create abstract works with colour, light and tonal gradation key elements to her work. Goldsmith incorporates a layering process, celebrating the varying brush marks and luminosity of paint, resulting in a happening of sorts, the unforeseen. Goldsmith is a graduate of Sussex University in Visual Arts and has exhibited across the UK and Spain. Her work has been exhibited widely and two of her paintings were featured in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in 2022.