New Figures

Open Wed – Sun (11am – 5pm)

Kirstie Értz, (b. 1998) is a painter and photographer of Scottish, Hungarian and Mexican descent. Immersed in a musical childhood, the arts where an ever- present feature in early life. Following an interest in the visual arts, particularly painting, led her to study at the Florence Academy of Fine Art. After completing the intensive drawing program at the FAA, she continued her studies in classical realism at the Glasgow Academy of Fine Art.

Through photography and painting, she engages traditional elements of pictorial design, such as composition, colour, harmony and shape. These components are experimented with in a way that remains cohesive, as she develops her way of seeing and recording the world in a sensitive manner. Landscape paintings are created en plein air, requiring acute observation and translation of reality into paint onto canvas. Beauty lies in capturing ever-changing qualities of light, along with other elemental forces that constantly shift. Each moment offers new information to be received and interpreted in the act of painting.

One of the main challenges of plein air work is the transitory nature of the elementsone seeks to capture—light, weather, and mood—requiring quick response, selection, and adaptation.

The studio provides the opportunity to further explore painting. Experimental mark-making, combined with gradual layering of thinner passes of paint, is currently part of her practice. This process often involves scraping things down and building them up again. These works serve as both independent pieces, exploring personal narrative, and as a continuation of the plein air body of work, informing and feeding into one another.