The never-finished fluidity of Caivano’s practice is heightened in the graphic qualities that emerge in recent works possessing the exploratory character of drawing, the vibrating colours distinguishing many of her previous canvases newly pared back in favour of cool greys, blues and browns. Executed in sparse, looping passages of paint, these delicate tones share a lucidity with art historical monochromatic work that has similarly compressed the colour spectrum. Restless shifts in tempo, which leave plenty of room for pale washes of colour and unpainted canvas, echo too the pentimento erasures and re-workings common throughout Medieval and Renaissance oil painting. Caivano’s inquisitive contours seem to measure out territory both subjective and painterly, their rehearsal of looser structures suggesting a complexity based on reduction and openness of lineation. This sense of increasing exposure is at once both contemplative and interactive, as Caivano instigates fresh conversations between artist and viewer, world and image, object and impression. 

The opening of this exhibition coincides with the publication by the Renaissance Society of Varda Caivano: The Density of the Actions, with contributions by Solveig Øvstebø, Barry Schwabsky, Peter St John, Paula van den Bosch and Terry R. Myers.

Special event:
Varda Caivano in conversation with critic Gilda Williams to launch the artist's new book The Density of the Actions

Thursday 1 October 2105, 6.30 to 8pm
Victoria Miro Mayfair

Watch: Varda Caivano in conversation at the Renaissance Society, Chicago, February 2015