Jan Coutts
Jan is a New Zealander. She completed her BA Hons. Degree in 1994. She has trained in sculpture, drawing and printmaking in London, and since qualifying has exhibited with group and solo shows. In 2002 her painting of a cheetah was voted 'Best Painting' by the public at the Affordable Art Fair, London - over 18,000 people attended the show. Jan exhibits extensively, particularly in London, Dublin, Paris and New York.
“The beasts in her paintings are as elusive on canvas as they are in their natural habitat. They reveal and camouflage themselves through patterns in the mists and shadows in the sun. They hunt and flee beneath layers of texture, their journeys are mapped by eroded patches of gold, silver and bronze leaf, their landscapes are cracked by layers of oil paint, glazes and resin as if they had been literally baked by the African sun. Jan has managed to capture speed, movement, light and pattern in her personal view of the wild. The beasts have a dreamlike quality, the images contain a sense memory, almost convincing you that you were there.” Viv Levy, MA RCA (Senior Lecturer - Central St Martins)