ELKE VARGA

"Colour can be understood as a relational substance. It exists in the mind and the eye of the viewer and also in relation to its surroundings. In my painting practice, geometric abstraction is often used as a framework to investigate ideas around colour. These paintings are part of a recent body of work that explores alternate readings of the Post-it Note, a colourful office supply that supports the organisation of time, labour and ideas. The paintings attempt to reimagine and reconstruct the readymade colour palette of Post-it Notes as a vehicle for pure colour. The work is an intentional and playful slowing down, which feeds into a broader dialogue about the post pandemic value of work, art and creativity in a neo-liberal society." ~ Elke Varga

Elke Varga is an artist and educator who currently lives and works in Boorloo, Perth. She received a Master of Fine Art from Monash University, Melbourne in 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Melbourne. 

Varga has presented solo exhibitions at Five Walls Project Space, Melbourne (2024, 2018); TCB, Melbourne (2010); Peloton, Sydney (2008); among others. She has participated in a range of group exhibitions including SCOPE 23, Post Office Gallery, Federation University, Ballarat (2023); Abstraction, Five Walls Projects, Melbourne (2023); Abstraction 22, Five Walls Projects, Melbourne (2022); Drawing Folio 3: Abstraction, Block Projects, Melbourne (2019); Splash McClelland Contemporary Water Colour Prize, McClelland Gallery, Melbourne (2018); Unhidden, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne (2017); The MADA Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition, Monash University, Melbourne (2016), The Fremantle Print Prize, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth (2015); I always read by listening to the text, Platform, Melbourne (2014) and Drawing Folio 2: Ruler, Pencil & Time, Block Projects, Melbourne (2012). In 2020, she participated in the Blindside Offsite Residency, Blindside, Melbourne. She was a founding member of 1st Floor Artists and Writers space (1994-1999) and joined the AC4CA in 2024.

Her multidisciplinary practice investigates ideas around colour and includes painting, installation and artist books. Her work draws from many influences including the everyday, art history, psychology, colour theory, colour science and colour modelling systems.