Working on raw, certified authentic Belgian linen (LIBECO, since 1858), materiality becomes the unifying force of the composition. The inherent tone of the linen functions as a painted colour, structuring a positive–negative composition in which unpainted areas generate tension between representational specificity and the open space of the canvas. These absences invite the viewer to remember and to see, rather than to simply observe.
Rooted in LIBECO’s sustainable lineage, the work offers ethereal depictions of landscape that expand the tradition of landscape painting through process and material intelligence. Reminiscent of aquarelle, colour field painting, and staining practices, Houston’s paintings operate parallel to the viewer’s memory—colour and line asserting presence while negative space draws attention to the textures of the warp and weft.
*VERSO is unique process to Houston where diluted pigmented gesso is pressed through raw linen, with the artist working on both sides of the surface. The resulting image is a distillation of form, colour, and surface, its subtlety amplified by the unified, inherent colour of the linen itself.
