Unveiling a vibrant body of work that explores colour and form and how colour and sound intersect, Louise Isackson presents Shapes of Music at the Weswal Gallery as part of the Tamworth Music Festival.
The exhibition encompasses a variety of artworks that are composed of overlapping coloured shapes that are assembled to reveal a relief shadow effect. These shapes converge to reflect the rhythm, resonance, tonality and sensation of hearing music.
Brisbane based artist Louise Isackson channels her knowledge of music to explore her translations into a visual form. She experiments with formalist geometry and relief assemblage. Every piece is an intuitive perception of colour-music similarities.
“My work aims to visually capture many elements related to music. Mostly, I’m expressing ideas about harmonic tone, melodies, note intervals, pitch, tempo, resonance, volume and composition,” said Louise Isackson.
“My background in music and performance plays an important part in my art practice. Somehow the playful approach to image-making is similar to writing a melody for a song. I’m always analysing how to merge musical ideas into the materials that best align these thoughts and ideas.”
“Born into a musical family, I was taught music theory and played piano from an early age through to adulthood. I’m fascinated by the scope of ideas to blend music, design and art,” said Isackson.
In Shapes of Music Isackson draws from the history of crossmodal research spanning over 100 years. She delves into pitch and hue, while embracing the idealogies of a Bauhaus design aesthetic.
Crossmodal correspondences include lightness-quietness, gradients-harmony and brightness-loudness – all parallel attributes of the visual with the auditive.
Her rich background in music performance infuses her art practice with rhythmic vitality, and her sensibility to the deeper impact and sensation of colour.
With the playful application of relief shapes that create an almost three-dimensional surface, viewers are invited to engage with art that bridges two senses – sight and sound – in a refreshing, immersive way.
Shapes of Music
Weswal Gallery, 192 Brisbane Street, East Tamworth
Exhibition: 17 January – 2 February 2025
Free entry
For more information, visit: www.louiseisackson.com for details.
Images: Louise Isackson, Blue Consonance, 2025. Timber, Oil Paint, Resin on Board, 60cm x 60cm x 5cm | Louise Isackson, Red Note Crescendo, 2025. Timber, Oil Paint, Resin on Board, 60cm x 60cm x 5cm | Louise Isackson, portrait (supplied)