Critchley, Natalya
As a visual artist who grew up in London, hooked on Matisse, on attending art school recognised more light was needed. I went to Venezuela in 1982, to the Guayana region, associated with the colonial "El Dorado" myth. The reality of a town built as part of a mega industrial project from the 50's was quite different. The inmensity of the industrial park was rivalled only by the rawness of the natural setting. I worked for the cultural department at Interalumina, and produced a large body of work on the factories, which were used for the posters I designed. People seemed to enjoy seeing their workplaces depicted. Initially it was very figurative work as I could do little more than register this overwhelmingly varied and infinite landscape on drawing trips. Eventually I synthesized the urban and the industrial into an alfabet of symbols with which to rewrite the landscape. For 20 years I have regularly been commissioned as artist in residence in petrol refineries, metalmechanical workshops, dam construction, banks, ports and art festivals. The interaction with people during on-site work is an important part of this 'register' of work environments. I would love to draw the cranes at Wembley.
Contact details
Natalya Critchley
020 7700 5986
natalyacritchley@hotmail.com
Primary Art Form
Visual Arts and Designer Makers
Other Artform categories
Printmaking
Site Specific Artist
Installation
Public Art
