A deep, dark inner world draws you into the canvas. Evocative of the cosmic blackness, the vast unknowing pull of energy. And yet, within, there is luminosity and depth, connecting light and shadow, tapping into the sublime and unexplained immensity.

When viewed as a series of paintings, Phoebe Allwell’s artworks convey a powerful energy and evoke strong emotions; they will be viewed differently depending on the state of mind of the viewer, the light, and thus, the time of day or season. They are anchored in the now, influenced by the phenomenological philosopher Martin Buber and the “in-between”. A space hidden from objectivised thinking. Allowing for a deeper tapping into meaningful and authentic encounters.

The aesthetics transcend into a slowing down of time. A promise of something new: unexpected, curiosity, and vulnerability of a single moment, memory, or feeling. Immersed in sombre colour fields, the audience encounters enigmatic depths that invite relationalism – an interconnectedness where the artwork becomes a site of exchange, drawing the viewer into a dialogue of perception and feeling.

Intuitively discovering washes of dark hues, Allwell’s approach to art making is experimental. Working with loose liquid paint, she layers the medium across the canvas, each infused with raw pigment to deepen and alchemise the colour into a unified field. The fluid paint spills down the sides of the canvases, active drips juxtapose the natural linen, leaving traces of process.

The connection between Allwell’s background as a somatic trauma psychotherapist can be seen in her cathartic expressions of energy. Her artworks represent a breath out and deep inward pause. Spiritual and meditative, the artworks evoke a spaciousness, stillness, and simplicity. Inspired by Asian philosophies that seek a balance through living in harmony with nature.

For the artist, the artworks can be read through the fascination with the brain and neuroscience, and how the body and brain are intrinsically linked. The process is a somatic whole-body engagement and relationship expressed through taut canvas and folded square corners, continued through the flatness and matting of surface. The layering and reworking of the painting embodying relationality and experience. Colour and layered washes that elicit an emotional response.

An alchemy of materials with the energy of the artist creates its own living consciousness. Yet the works remain abstract, minimal, and resistant to classification. Only to be viewed as a repetitive, meditative narrative. The composition of acrylic washes, glazes, and raw pigments creates energy fields on the canvas, and textural mark-making echoes the explorative nature.