These drawings do not wish to place you inside Neva's world, but rather outside it and force you back to your own...
Neva Hosking is an artist who clearly takes great personal delight in the living. Taking her cues from the rich visual delights of her immediate environment, Neva’s still lifes are semi-autobiographical, displaying in their subject matter and aesthetic structure cues from her personal life.
In Neva’s work, the paper is as much the work as the marks she leaves upon it. The printed grids on the paper act as windows to both project upon and to peer at, to let the viewer peek through, and to keep them at just the right distance. Drawn from life, the artist’s painstaking methodology explores Hosking’s own collection of plants examined in an intensely detailed technique. Once framed, Neva’s works become windows into her greenhouse — an invitation into her personal world. Devoid of colour, focus is made on the line and form of the artist’s subjects to engage a sense of attention that enables the elevation of otherwise overlooked plants.
Neva’s works are transformative. They do not aim to shock or admonish viewers, nor do they operate as vehicles for socio-political commentary. The detail, careful composition and craftsmanship of her practice provides ample stimulation for the viewer, providing a poignant reminder of the unique wonders of nature. Neva’s remarkable works of observation centred on living plants redefines the still life genre by celebrating nature.