Earlier this month, Body Language opened at RHODES, marking the fourth solo exhibition by Cat Spilman, running from 28 November to 20 December.
After her inclusion of vibrant colour in her 2024 show, Spilman returns to her signature restrained palette, with a renewed refocus on movement, form, and balance. The works in Body Language are rooted in a deeply introspective process; the exhibition becomes a heartfelt meditation on Spilman’s personal and professional life as both have shifted and expanded simultaneously. Spilman describes her works as autobiographical despite their abstraction. Rather than depicting the body in figurative detail, she captures its essence through sweeping brushstrokes and fluid gestures that stretch beyond the boundaries of each canvas.
In I Wanted Chaos Spilman uses negative space to shape form: dark strokes are defined by the black areas seemingly covering them, as though there is movement beyond the boundary of the canvas’s face. Here, her oil pastel lines don’t just mirror the thicker strokes; they replace them, following on in the expected path that has been hidden from view. With Spilman’s signature lack of colour and figuration, these paintings invite the viewer to consider the impact of movement and transition in all forms. The rhythm and flow of each piece suggest the passage of time and the endless transformations possible as we contemplate what happens to her lines beyond the canvas they escape. Spilman’s monochromatic abstraction grants her the space for introspection in the freedom of its departure from realism.
Attenborough exemplifies this sense of growth in its composition: the thicker strokes fall from the height of the canvas before curling around each other and exiting from the opposite side, as though escaping the limits of a frame. Delicate oil-pastel lines echo and follow these movements while bringing focus to the centre of the work, full of overlapping lines and murky borders. It leaves the viewer considering where her compositions start and end, and how intertwined they become along the way.
Since Spilman’s debut solo show in 2022, she has steadily grown in recognition, with previous shows and multiple limited-edition prints having sold out. Spilman will be releasing another print in 2026. Join the RHODES Editions mailing list to stay up to date.
For more information on Spilman’s original works, please email info@rhodescontemporaryart.com
