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The most overwhelming feature of Foreman's recent work is the residence it takes up between Taranaki and the south of France, the collision of two landscapes. Foreman has a deep connection to both landscapes, but it is the type of romantic connection born out of distance and separation. The bond she has comes from brief stints of travel, and the memories she carries back home.
It is the quixotic connection of travel: time enough to fall in love or re-kindle an old passion, but not a marriage as such, not a full and immersive relationship. The Taranaki landscape becomes an old and grizzled lover waiting at home, whereas the French landscape sweeps her off her feet with its bright hues and soft light.
So I find hallmarks of this body of work are romanticism and desire: to capture (without entrapping), to own (without ownership) or to possess (without occupying). Foreman's paintings enact a romantic desire directed towards the land.
Gabrielle Amodeo 2007
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