Daphne’s exhibition of this name, held at the Depot Artspace, Devonport, Auckland, in September 2016, once again drew on her Composition series.
At an age when most 80 year olds would be having a well-earned rest, Daphne (who turned 88 in 2016) continued to paint in oils at her easel for several hours most days until a few months prior to her death. Her final series, entitled simply: Compositions, was the fruit of her last seven years’ work. These vigorous and often joyous structured works distil themes she returned to throughout her career, namely that of puzzles, memories and implied connections. A colourist at heart, Daphne uses the framework of these pieces to set herself rigorous puzzles in the art of balancing colour and form, using recurring symbols and colours from her extensive body of work. The resulting works range from the analytical to the exuberant, as Daphne allows the emerging colours to determine the direction of each piece.











