Renée Van Halm
IRL

Over a long and dedicated career, Renée Van Halm has pursued her interest in expressions of creativity by others, especially those working in the fields of craft and design. Her own practice draws on a wide range of references, from era-specific domestic paint colours, to woven patterns produced by female members of the Bauhaus design group, and in this current body of work, patterned lengths of cloth from the late 1880s made as essential fashion accessories for women to express their individuality, commonly known as French ribbons.

The title of the exhibition, IRL, is an abbreviation for “in real life," a term developed in the early days of the internet as a way to distinguish events and interactions occurring offline, outside the internet and its projected subjectivities and fantasies. The title acknowledges Van Halm’s interest in the very real, tangible impacts of pattern, colour, and design on social and cultural life. In viewing her works in person, physical characteristics of the thin brushstrokes and the materiality of the canvas are observed and felt, and one's focus is activated by lively compositions, in real life.

For a list of available works, please contact the gallery at info@equinoxgallery.com