A press release must be bijoux for the chattering masses- however here is the extended version for those who like a bit of *bonus* to their content.
THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London
19 - 26 April 2015
Private View
18 April 2015 from 6-7.30 pm, no RSVP required.
Beginning with a clear piece of glass, British-American artist Melanie Hodge starts by signing her name backwards in oil paint. After all, this is reverse painting and in a looking glass landscape one should always begin with the finishing flourish.
Then, with only a rough sketch to guide her, she adds in the finest details to foreground knoll, floral tree and star spangled sky. Once this first layer is dry, Melanie adds in a second and sometimes third layer of detail using 10/0 paint brushes and cocktail sticks (amongst other mark making tools). In a world that feeds on instant gratification this is art as a slow and meditative process - despite its contemporary gloss. It is an old-fashioned art which cannot be rushed and that requires a steady hand, steady breath, and a patient soul. This is an art form where the artist starts with clear vision, but works increasingly blind as the paint layers spread on the near side of the glass. It is an art process in which serendipitous evolutions will scupper the best of ‘but-I-thought’ plans as things shift and change in the middle ground or emerge from the background, just when you thought you were almost done.
Knowing nothing of its history, Melanie first began painting in the reverse after meeting modern master of the Croatian Naïve tradition, Ivica Fišter. Never mind she didn’t speak Croatian and he didn’t speak any English, she asked anyways and he agreed to introduce her to the basics of the technique. It was an intense and life changing mentorship, despite the brief apprenticeship. For even in the face of multiple challenges – learning to paint with oils, backwards, on glass, and in a foreign language – it was after only three sessions that Melanie was told she was no longer a ‘student’ but a ‘colleague’ and would have to find her own answers to questions of technique from then on. In hindsight it was just as it ought to be in a Naïve tradition where self-taught artists are supposed to solve their own problems, develop their own unique techniques and find their own original voice; but at the time it felt like being pushed off a cliff and not knowing you could fly. Five years later though and she’s still got her wings spread, seeing where she might go.
In those years Melanie’s painting style has blossomed into an instantly recognizable mix of rampant yet finely executed details set into large swathes of richly hued spaces: sweeping spirals of stars against velvet soft skies, jewel-like flowers against emerald leaves, ivory towers beckoning to the inner spirit and animal totems that speak to the eternal dreamer in all of us. They are dreamscapes full of wonder – familiar, yet also foreign, as they reflect the world anew through a looking glass lens.
Also, during these years, Melanie has learned a lot more about the Croatian Naïve tradition and its history. From one artist contact to another she has met some of the legendary painters of the last generation and forged lasting friendships with others at the height of their painterly powers today. And, as she continues to uncover new (to her) paintings by old artists – she has discovered that for her the Croatian Naïve is more than a technique or a nearly forgotten tradition revived: it is the living, breathing language of her creative consciousness and the conversations that continue to evolve between her works and those of the Croatian Naïve artists who have come before give a grounding and a context to her expression, while encouraging her to take flight in her own directions.
This exhibition is Melanie’s first solo exhibition in the UK and her second to exclusively feature her reverse paintings on glass. Exhibited will be prints of her early works based on the landscapes of Croatia’s Medvednica mountains (aka ‘the bear paintings’), sketches from both Zagreb and UK inspired paintings and several new works including a series to feature ‘That Alice Girl.’ Sponsored by The British Croatian Society and forming a part of their Creative Croatia program, this exhibition will showcase how an almost forgotten tradition can inspire new directions, while also giving a rare glimpse into the working practices of an original artistic imagination.
Please join us on this journey Through a Looking Glass.
To quote Van Gogh
“I paint the world as I think it, not as I see it.”
To quote myself
"One must ask for the moon. It seems impossible, but then magic only happens when you ask for impossible things. If you do not ask, no one will ever know and the chance of magic may be lost forever."