On the Colourmaker’s Elaboratory - An artist’s visual reframing of 19th century colourmaker George Field with Dr Natalie O'Connor

Frontispiece of George Field's Chromatography (1835)

Step inside the world of nineteenth century colourmaking and discover the extraordinary story of George Field, the influential British colourmaker whose experiments with pigments, permanence and colour theory transformed the artist’s palette. - Natalie O'Connor

In this richly illustrated presentation, Natalie will explore the intersection of colour, materiality and artistic practice through her ongoing research into the inherent qualities of pigments. Drawing upon her PhD research, industry experience in artists’ materials manufacturing, and contemporary art practice, Natalie will examine how historical colour systems continue to shape the way artists understand and use colour today. 

Central to the discussion is George Field’s pursuit of the perfect primary red, Rose Madder Genuine, the celebrated lake pigment that became synonymous with brilliance, transparency and luminosity in nineteenth century painting. The webinar traces the story of Field’s "Elaboratory", his experimental methods of colour production, and the enduring legacy of his theories within art education and contemporary colour practice. Featured in this webinar are Natalie’s observational studies, Triunity colour experiments and installation works that reveal the physical behaviours of coloured pigments and a reframing of Field’s theories.  This event will appeal to artists, educators, conservators, designers, colour researchers and anyone interested in the histories and materiality of colour.

Dr Natalie O’Connor is an artist, researcher, and educator whose experience in the international colour manufacturing industry has heavily influenced her practice. She holds a PhD from UNSW for her thesis, The Nature of Redness- A Practice-Based Research into Red Pigments to Offer a New Understanding of Material Colour, and her practice and thesis are concerned with the permanency and fragility of colour and the technical innovations of the artist’s palette that result from a collaborative dialogue between artists and scientists since the early nineteenth century. Her artwork, The Gol Gol Layer Colour Observations, has developed over the last ten years and primarily consists of a series of experimental observations of a unique area in remote Australia. Each installation examines the inherent qualities of each red-coloured artist's pigment in response to the 100,000-year-old red layer at Mungo, Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area, and the changes over time. These installations have been exhibited in numerous public and private galleries, including Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, Hazelhurst Arts Centre, Articulate Project Space, Charles Sturt University Gallery, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Concordia Gallery and Griffin Gallery, London UK.

At the conclusion of Natalie’s presentation, participants are welcome to join the Closing Drinks of the Museum Object exhibition at 3 - 5 pm. You are also welcome to attend the opening of the Museum Object exhibition. which will be held on Saturday, June 6 at 3 to 5 pm. Also, don't miss the exhibition Lustre, a group exhibition inspired by the Allied campaigns in Greece and Crete in 1941, with artists including Natalie O'Connor and another CSA NSW Division committee member, Michelle Hiscock, in the Auditorium of the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park until July 15.