Romeo Jones

I am really pleased to have been invited to exhibit work again at Romeo Jones in the heart of Dulwich village. It has been 3 years since I last showed work here, and this current show will last until the end of the year. As pieces sell they will be replaced by new/other works. Included in the show will be a new Little Red Dress (above), and a new slightly larger version of Madam Butterfly (below).

Also included will be a signature Butterfly Ball and smaller pieces like Coronet and Token of Affection (below), which would make ideal presents.

Romeo Jones
80 Dulwich Village
London
SE 21
email: patrick@romeojones.co.uk
Tel: 0208 299 1900

Ann Veronica Janssens: yellowbluepink

To the Wellcome Collection to see yellowbluepink, an exploration of consciousness by artist Ann Veronica Janssens, as part of their States Of Mind season. This installation consisted of a mist filled room into which coloured lights were projected. On entering the installation you walk into a fog of pink, which gradually merges into yellow, before fading into a pale blue. It was a really ethereal experience as the ghostly figures of other visitors emerged then evaporated, disappearing into the mist. It was a slightly unsettling experience as you could hear the voices of the other visitors through the fog, but could barely discern them. Most troubling was the disorientation. You found yourself groping in the mist for the familiarity and comfort of solid walls. Weirdly, as disorientating as the installation is, it wasn't a scary experience. It felt oddly comforting, otherworldly and very peaceful. The fog was like a cocoon. This piece reminded me of the sensory works of Olafur Eliasson such as The Weather Project which occupied the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, and also Antony Gormley's Blind Light installation at the Hayward Gallery which also employed light and mist.

Into the void....

Pink becomes yellow.

Yellow becomes blue.

yellowbluepink is a successful exploration of consciousness and a very interesting sensory experience.

I like the design of the exhibition leaflet and the way they have echoed the coloured mist of the installation by fading the colour on the inner of the leaflet from yellow to pink.

The Wellcome Collection staircase was a fascinating sculptural object in itself.

I loved this Antony Gormley just casually hanging from the ceiling.

I also want these beautiful lights in the cafe area.

Ann Veronica Janssens: States Of Mind

until 3rd January 2016

Wellcome Collection

183 Euston Road

NW1

wellcomecollection.org/statesofmind

Cambridge Contemporary Art: Christmas Show

I was delighted to be invited to show again at Cambridge Contemporary Arts' Christmas showcase which opened at the weekend, and the CCA team have done a fantastic job again this year. The above image is of the work that I am exhibiting in the show. I have found myself increasingly using more gold leaf in my pieces for some reason this year, and have also been encouraged to work on a larger scale. As you can see the work selected for the CCA Christmas Show incorporates both of these elements. I have also included the new experimental piece entitled Cummar (below).  I wrote about this piece earlier this year (here), where I was playing in the studio and trying out something new. It was also a response to the great Matisse: The Paper-Cuts exhibition at Tate Modern last year, and is one of four representations of the different seasons.

Also included and hot from the studio is a new large-scale piece entitled Drift, (below), which is over a metre long.

Aureole, in gold leaf is also new for this year.

And lastly there is a gold leaf Lineate.

Christmas Show

until 31st December 

Cambridge Contemporary Art

6 Trinity Street Cambridge

01223 324 222 

info@cambridgegallery.co.uk

Hallowe'en

Phenakistoscope - Joseph Plateau

E A Seguy: Butterflies Through Others Eyes #13

These beautiful butterfly designs are the work of E A (Eugene Alain) Seguy (1889-1985), who was a designer working in France at the beginning of the 20th century. Seguy's style incorporated elements of both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, which you will know I am a big fan of if you regularly read this blog. 

Seguy's artwork utilised a technique known as pochoir, which was a printing process that used a series of stencils to produce dense layers of vivid colour. The pochoir process sees the artist/designer applying pigment to paper by using stencils. The image was first created by the artist in watercolour or gouache. This would then determine the number of colours and stencils needed. Once the number of stencils was decided they would be cut from materials such as copper, zinc or cardboard and the paint would be applied through the stencil by brushes. Although it is a simple concept, the pochoir technique could be complex with some images requiring as many as 100 stencils to produce just one print. The pochoir technique fell out of fashion due to the expense, as well as labour intensity in producing the prints. The pochoir technique was replaced by the popularity of the lithographic process. 

The repeat pattern designs above, demonstrate the vibrancy of Seguy's palette, and also the vividness and accuracy of colours produced when the pochoir technique was employed. They are also a good demonstration of Seguy's understanding of how repeat patterns work. Like Sonia Delauney's work in my previous post, I could see these used as wallpaper/fabric/fashion designs. Seguy took his inspiration from nature and produced 11 albums of  illustrations and textile pattern designs that featured crystals, flowers and animals. It was his Papillon album though, which was to become the most popular and the focus for this post, the latest in my Butterflies Through Others Eyes series. Further examples from Seguy's wonderfully inspirational Papillons folio can be seen below.