- LUSH -
Flora e Fauna della Quarantena
by Wendy Artin
November 21, 2020 - March 20, 2021
Gurari Collections' is pleased to present Lush - Flora e Fauna dalla Quarantena, by Wendy Artin. Transcending the confinements of 2020, the exhibition is a treasury of beautiful works on rebirth, movement, and intimacy. An American in Rome, Artin has drawn upon her immediate environment in 80 watercolors on white paper.
Verdant plants, life models caught in motion and bucolic scenes of classical sculpture offer liberation from lockdown.
"Each work represents something luscious. Whenever I paint watercolors, I try to make each mark count, to make each stroke of the brush describe what I am looking at, to get the right puddle on the paper and capture life," said Wendy Artin.
The centerpiece of the show is a tour-de-force watercolor drawn from the 2nd Century Farnese Sarcophagus, one of the most important works of art in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The scenes depicted on the huge marble are those of revelry, and Artin shows satyrs cavorting with the women as they gather grapes, pulling at their tunics and exchanging amorous glances.
In counterpoint to these large intricate watercolors are small portraits of live models. Prevented from working in person with her models, Artin used video she had taken during photo sessions to capture them in between poses.
"Figure drawing sessions have always been a golden spot of my week. For those few hours the world melts away and the only thing that exists is trying to capture something of the model in a pose that will soon vanish." said Artin.
"Suddenly the whole of humanity was immobilized. Forced to abandon live sessions, I pulled out videos of models I had taken pre-lockdown. I became entranced by the positions in the middle of a movement, poses that are physical, private and oblivious, like someone exercising alone, poses that no model could ever hold long enough live for a watercolor to be made," she said.
As the world closed in, Artin's walls soon became covered in the intimate paintings of human bodies caught off balance, stretching and flowing, alive, physical and dynamic.
Jostling for space on the walls were the watercolors of the clover she picked on her daily officially sanctioned walk through Rome's streets to drop off the trash.
"Each day I brought home a new stem of clover to paint. I had never realized how utterly beautiful clover is, how fascinating, how endlessly challenging. I filled bowls, vases, the kitchen sink..." she said.
As lockdown eased, Artin's kitchen table soon began to heave with the garden produce from her friends, from turnips to zucchini, with broccoli, radicchio, strawberries and figs inbetween, and all have ended up in her paintings of life springing back.
The scenes of the bucolic grape harvest of Farnese Sarcophagus, the models in motion, the clover plucked from the city streets, the fresh fruit and vegetables are all part of the cycle of life caught by the brush of Artin in a show which will delight her many fans.
Gallery Health Precautions
All necessary safety measures are in place in the gallery in accordance with the World Health Organization protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and wiping down high touch areas between appointments are being applied. Masks are required to enter the gallery.
We will only be accepting one appointment at a time, limited to groups of four or less per appointment. Walk in is available without an appointment providing the number of people in the gallery space is permissible.
If you have recently been exposed to someone with Covid-19, or are experiencing symptoms, please come back and visit us in a few weeks. We are happy to send you images of our current exhibition, supporting materials, and exhibition catalogues for purchase.