An abstract expressionist painter, Amica Whincop harnesses Japanese principles of Simplicity & 'Ma', creating intuitive work rich in depth and emotion
b. 1978 Hanover, West Germany.
BVA, BED (sec), Queensland University of Technology, 2003.
Lives and works in the Old Mining Town of Gympie. Qld.
From her childhood living on the rugged shores of England’s Isle of Wight to her current home in Gympie, a former gold mining town in like southeast Queensland, the forms and colours of the natural world deeply inform Whincop’s painting practice.
Intuition plays an important part in Amica’s creative process, particularly in the way she works with the unpredictable materials of water-based acrylics and ink. While she deliberately chooses her colour palette, the depth of hue and the textures of each painting are heavily reliant on spontaneity.
Once the colour process is complete, Amica weaves white paint around her canvas, isolating numerous gem-like shapes that appear to float across the surface. Eliminating areas that feel distracting or unnecessary is one of the most important aspects of her creative process. Harnessing the Japanese concept of “Ma”, meaning ‘interval’ or ‘the space between’, Whincop use’s white space to bridge chaos and calm, paring her work down to its simplest form, without losing its beauty and meaning. As a result, there is a meditative quality to her paintings, as if they have been distilled from chaos into a place of serenity.
Graduating from the Queensland University of Technology in 2003, Amica worked for several years as an art teacher before she began her full-time painting career. Her work features in several public collections including The Star Casino, Sydney and The John of God Berwick Hospital, , Sydney. Her paintings have been feautred on Grand Designs Australia, The Block, Channel 9, in addition to various private collections in Australia, Greece, Tokyo, The United States. Amica’s work Gorecki (2017) was a finalist in the Contemporary Art Awards (2018). Amica Whincop has held solo exhibitions in Adelaide, Sydney and Murrurundi, NSW. She has been profiled in publications including Grand Designs Australia, Art Edit, Australian Country Living & Home Design.
