Untitled (unfolded tea towel, pink stripes)

Mary Stack

Oil on linen, framed

53x43cm

2025

Mary is one of the kindest, most generous artists I know—always encouraging, always quietly supporting those around her. That same care and attentiveness carries through into her work, which is as thoughtful as it is beautifully resolved.

Her paintings are stunning in their simplicity and technical precision. There’s a quiet confidence in the way she handles her subject matter—unfolded fabric, handkerchiefs, teatowels—elevating these familiar, everyday objects into something contemplative and refined. I’m drawn to the way she navigates the tension between order and disruption, particularly in how the grid is both upheld and undone through the folds of fabric.

What I find especially compelling is her exploration of illusion. Through layers of oil paint, she creates surfaces that feel luminous and dimensional, yet gently remind us of their own materiality. There’s a subtle invitation to look closer, to question what we’re seeing—to sit in that space between representation and reality.

Artist Bio

Mary completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2023. Her work is held in the National Art School collection and she has exhibited widely, including as a finalist in the National Emerging Art Prize 2024. Mary’s current series explores fabric folds, trompe l’œil, and the structure of the grid. Focusing on familiar objects like teatowels, she paints them unfolded to explore how a flat surface can suggest three-dimensional form. Traces of use introduce a quiet tension between order and disorder, subtly disrupting the grid. Built through layered oil paint, the work reflects on the boundary between representation and illusion.

To purchase this work please contact Harriet Links through her website.