In her latest series of paintings Anwen Keeling has captured her subjects admist a sizzling summer heat. Her images range from intensley intimate moments within the bathroom, to group scenes at the iconic Bondi Beach sea baths.

The works are sensuous and voyeuristic with lush surfaces and deep chiaroscuro tantalising the eye. Mood, atmosphere and the power of suggestion are paramount.

Filmic strategies abound in Anwen Keeling’s new works. Like cues from a film script, the titles of the paintings alert us to the possible psychological implications of the imagery. In “Expectation”, a young woman waits in the morning chill of an open door, her stillmess reflected in the polished floorboards beneath her feet. From the perspective of an adjoining room, the viewer participates in a narrative which extends beyond the canvas. Although the camera’s ability to record with absolute fidelity is a considerable aid to her artistic process, the importance of the painted surface is never relinquished. Littering her canvases with meticulous transcriptions of light, shadow relection and pattern, Keeling masterfully alludes to realism whilst revelling in an intensely coloured palette and exploring the very tactile qualities of paint and glaze.

The influence of Caravaggio on Keeling’s work is undeniable. Her use of dramatic lighting to define and accentuate form is particularly evident in the show’s signature painting, “Languor”. Stripped down and listless from the oppressive heat and humidity, three figures are seated within a deeply shadowed interior. Relentless sunlight streams through the closed, summer-bleached windows, illuminating dark corners and graphically highlighting damp flesh and sumptuous textures. Immobilised and apathetic, the women neither engage with each other nor with the viewer.

Throughout this new series of painting, Anwen Keeling deliberately precludes the viewer from the true condition of her subjects, choosing instead to seduce with ambiguity and rich opulent surfaces.