Catalogue Essay by Manfred Jurgensen, 1994, CINTRA Galleries, Brisbane, 40 Park Rd Milton

'This is without doubt Cynthia Breusch’s most exciting exhibition to date. All of the artistic qualities of her earlier work have been retained - the sensuous lyricisms of line and colour, the dream-like fluidity of theme and imagery, the juxtaposition of adolescent or childhood self-absorption with a threatening outside world of violence, intrusion or indifference.  What is new in Breusch's latest collection is its dramatic increase in intellectual content, 'thought composition' and formalised consciousness. Their complexity of concept, form and statement is matched by an emotional and technical sophistication.

This is the work of a mature artist who has perfected and claimed a style of her own.

Those familiar with Cynthia Breusch's impressive range of earlier themes and variations will notice in her new compositions a sudden, dramatic and traumatic emergence of men. They have a part in the 'psychic music’ of human temperament and individuality. Yet although it is their own, men appear to have difficulty coming to terms with it. They may ‘conduct' it without being in control. Notes capture, haunt and imprison them. The painted composition's movement thus gains deeper significance. Any implicit social criticism in Breusch's paintings emerges without effort - it is a natural manifestation of their characteristic charm and wit. Lightness of touch, spontaneous response and complex cultural reflection coexist harmoniously, one reinforcing the other.

In some pictures the human image and. its surrounding - part sensual, part intellectual - assumes almost ‘abstract proportion. Objects remain recognisable as they begin to acquire the functional design of patterns. Some viewers may recognise occasional allusions to Braque, Klee and Miró. Yet the most striking quality of Cynthia Breusch's present collection remains its imaginative originality. ’

Manfred Jurgensen
Novelist, poet and critic
February, 1994