Anita DeSoto’s seductive paintings are inhabited by figures in strange, almost mythical tableaux. Influenced by the classical Renaissance ideal form of the human body, DeSoto captures the beauty of perfectly proportioned limbs, the luminosity of flesh and the subtleties of sculpted muscle. Though she uses traditional oil, glaze and varnish techniques, she restricts herself to only four colours – mauve, pale green, reddish-brown and an ivory white – lending a darkly surreal quality to her work.

Anita DeSoto lives and works in Dunedin. She holds an MFA from Otago Polytechnic School of Art, where she lectures in Life Drawing. Exhibiting since 1998, she has been the recipient of several art awards, including the Parklane Art Awards 2006, the McAlister Prize 2004 and the Cleveland Art Award 2003. DeSoto will take up a residency at the prestigious Leipzig International Academy in Germany this year.