Δώρα της Μνημοσύνης

H Ελληνική Γκαλερύ Κ του Λονδίνου ανακοίνωσε μια πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα έκθεση ζωγραφικής της Jane MacLean, με τον όμορφο και πρωτότυπο τίτλο «Δώρα της Μνημοσύνης». Η έκθεση θα παραμείνει ανοικτή από τις 23 Νοεμβρίου μέχρι τις 31 Δεκεμβρίου 2008.

Η Jane MacLean ζει και εργάζεται στο Λονδίνο. Σπούδασε Καλές Τέχνες στο παλιό Central School of Art, που τώρα ονομάζεται Central St. Martins. Για πολλά χρόνια ασχολούνταν με το πορτρέτο, αλλά με την αλλαγή της χιλιετίας η ζωγραφική της (που σχεδόν πάντα συμπεριλαμβάνει την ανθρώπινη μορφή) ερευνά και πειραματίζεται με τα συναισθήματα σε όλα τα μήκη και τα πλάτη τους.

Ανάμεσα στις πολλές εκθέσεις της είναι και οι παρακάτω:

1987 Faces, Solo Exhibition, Seen Galleries, London

1998 Promise, Art Connoisseur Gallery, London
2001 Green Line, themed group show, Gallery K, London
2001 Green Line, themed group show, Gallery K, Nicosia
2002 Kiss X, 10th Anniversary exhibition, Gallery K, London
2002 Maternity, group exhibition, Erricos Dyan Hospital, Athens
2002 Green Line: Cyprus 1974 - 2002, War Museum, Athens
2003 The Lovers of Zeus, solo exhibition, Gallery K, Nicosia
2003 Maternity, themed group show, Gallery K, Nicosia
2005 Daughters of Gaia, solo exhibition, Gallery K, London
2006 The Angel, themed group exhibition, Gallery K, London
2007 The Angel, themed group exhibition, Gallery K, Nicosia
2007 Summer in the City, group show, Gallery K, London
2007 Autumn Prelude, group show, Gallery K, London
2007 20/21 International Art Fair, London

Η ανακοίνωση τύπου για την έκθεση αυτή αναφέρει τα εξής:

‘... Ιf you had no memory you would not recollect that you had ever been pleased, nor would the slightest recollection of the pleasure which you feel at any moment remain with you. . .’
Socrates to Protarchus, Plato, Philebus 21BC

Hampstead artist Jane MacLean is a figurative painter in the true sense of the word. She excels at depicting the human body. The themes of previous exhibitions in Gallery K – Hampstead were largely derived from Greek mythology. Her most recent solo was Daughters of Gaia, so Mnemosyne is the natural progression. Mnemosyne was Gaia’s daughter and also the personification of memory.

Throughout art history mythology has provided artists with inspiration, and the opportunity to demonstrate their draughtsmanship and painting techniques. MacLean’s painting technique is similar to that of the old masters: she applies layer upon layer of delicate transparent glazes of pigment and oil, producing organic depth and richness.

Memory plays a significant role for artists, generating creative ideas and involuntary responses not only to visual imagery, but also to sounds, scents and tastes. MacLean’s painting The Leopard is based on the memory of seeing it, but she also remembers sensing its presence, and hearing its breath. Her flowers, especially the heavy roses invoke memories of scent, like Proust’s taste of madeleines associated with his childhood.

The common thread that runs through much of her work is myth, intertwined with the power of woman. Although in this collection of new work she has moved aside from mythology, it is never too far away, and this time in The Garden dyptich and The Gift, MacLean is using narratives from the Bible. Each painting is viewed from her personal feminine perspective; woman as wife, companion and friend, woman as lover, heroine or sinner – and especially as story teller, the guardian of cultural myths and memories.