Catalogue Essay by Jacqueline Houghton, 16 June 2006, Schubert Galleries, Marine Mirage, Seaworld Drive, Main Beach, Qld 4217

Cynthia Breusch ‘lightness + being’

"In this series, my usual 'quest' narrative has fallen away and I have become interested in specific moments of 'being moments that just are, without need for a before or after.”   Cynthia Breusch

Swooping, soaring and falling through space, Cynthia Breusch's exuberant figures are captured mid-flight. For Cynthia the figures represent 'winged' thought and euphoric feeling "clothed in a physical gesture". All action is suspended with the attempt to hold "the stillness, or essence, inside of movement'

Grandly atmospheric, the painted surfaces themselves are exceedingly active and alive with radiant energy. The viewer succumbs to the spell of these paintings not only because of the exalted subject matter, but through subtle, aesthetic signals. An adept and experienced artist, Breusch fully realises the innate correspondence between feeling, form and technique.

Her concern is to portray the ecstatic inner life of the figures, rather than a superficial, realistic likeness. We respond emotionally and psychologically to the masterful wielding of her brush: the restless tonal textures and flickering light presenting a powerful contrast to the curious grace of the outstretched figures. Suffused in a rich warm palette, the visionary strength in Breusch's execution lifts the works beyond sentimentality.

Cynthia Breusch was born in Brisbane and has a Diploma in Visual Communication from the Queensland College of Art. For many years she was a graphic designer and illustrator for the University of Queensland Press and an exhibition designer for the Queensland Museum. After a time as Lecturer in Illustration at the School of Art, University of Tasmania, Cynthia began her career as a full-time painter in 1991. She is the veteran of some eighteen or so solo shows and is represented in many significant collections including BH Billion, Newscorp, Tattersall's Club, Suncorp, and Sheraton Hotels.