Seasonal Abstraction

Inspired by seasonal ingredients and sensory experience, these abstract works translate flavour, sound, and memory into colour, tone, and gesture. Each piece reflects bold experimentation and a growing confidence in shaping a personal visual language through the rhythms of nature.

Seasonal Abstraction
Student exhibition: Form to Freedom with Harriet Goodall

"In 'Seasonal Abstraction', artists from around the world explore the language of flavour, form, and seasonality. Each artist selected ingredients from different times of the year – summer berries, autumn roots, winter citrus, spring greens – as a starting point for abstraction. They responded to change – not only in seasonal produce, but also in colour, flavour, and artistic practice.

Through paint, mark making, and colour, these works translate sensory experience into visual composition. The chosen ingredients became metaphors for place and memory, connecting the act of tasting with the act of seeing and feeling.

 

Students were encouraged to move beyond their comfort zones – this exhibition celebrates curiosity, experimentation, and the courage to try something new. Just as each season invites transformation, these artists have embraced the shifts that come with growth. Through abstraction, they’ve explored new ways of seeing – translating sounds into gesture and flavour into colour.

'Seasonal Abstraction' invites viewers to consider how something as ephemeral as a season, or as familiar as an ingredient, can unfold into new forms of expression – where flavour meets feeling, and where the rhythms of nature find shape in abstraction.

My Edible Abstraction course encouraged students to create their own visual language through the sounds of cooking, then to use those newfound mark making skills to learn about tone, value, and composition. Experimental drawing techniques allowed students to experience ingredients in a new and exciting way – through touch and drawing without looking. Colour palettes were chosen through favourite flavour combinations, sparking the senses and creating works that could be eaten with the eyes.

I so enjoyed seeing what students chose as their inspiration. Each ingredient became a kind of teacher – a source of stories, memories, and sensations that could be transformed through the act of painting.

Together, students’ works form a visual conversation about transition and renewal – the creative cycles that mirror those found in nature. 'Seasonal Abstraction' is both a reflection of what has been learned and a beginning of what is still to come.

I want to thank the students for trusting me to guide them on a sensory journey, and for the courage they showed in beginning their own. I’ve been consistently amazed and inspired by their creativity, dedication, and growth. It’s been a true privilege to witness their work come to life.

Together, we invite you to experience our sensory art table – a feast for the eyes. Enjoy!"

– Nicola Bennett


Would you like a printed copy of this Exhibition book?

Click the button below to purchase the online student exhibition as a printed book. Please note that Peecho (provider of the printed book) is a third party book printing company and we have no control over the postage costs to your destination.  

 

Related Stories

From Elements to Archetypes

From Elements to Archetypes

Student exhibition:The Art of Abstract Collage with Cordula Kagemann "'From Elements to Archetypes' refers to the elements of design and the...

Read More
From Marks to Meaning

From Marks to Meaning

Student exhibition:The Art of Abstract Collage with Cordula Kagemann "This exhibition brings together works created by students during our course on

Read More
From the archives: Layered histories with Rebecca Crowell

From the archives: Layered histories with Rebecca Crowell

Painter, writer and educator Rebecca Crowell has helped redefine how artists engage with cold wax medium. In this conversation, Rebecca reflects on...

Read More
Painting flavour with Nicola Bennett

Painting flavour with Nicola Bennett

In this episode, as we celebrate the launch of Edible Abstraction, New Zealand-based abstract painter Nicola Bennett invites us into her...

Read More