Exhibition/event has ended.
Victoria Gitman “On the Surface”
Shibuya Hikarie 8/ Art gallery
Finished
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Artists
Victoria Gitman
There was a necklace that appeared in many of Gitman’s female portraits, works that resemble those of Flanders in their crisp and delicate portrayal of women. One day, she came up with the idea of painting only the necklace itself. This led to “On Display”, Gitman’s series of paintings of beaded purses and necklaces.
Precisely as if repeating the iterations of actual beaded embroidery, the artist paints each bead individually, limiting her painting time from morning onwards for as long as the sun is in the sky. The soft light that envelops her motifs at the time when she must cease painting allows us to sense the light, air and humidity of the natural environments where her motifs are positioned.
Concurrent with “On Display”, Gitman also continues to work on the series “The Beauties”, which consists of female portraits based on postcards of Renaissance paintings. In the resulting series of small works, details such as braided hair, pearl necklaces and gold embroidery that even in the older works were diligently depicted, in the minute precision with which they are rendered here reveal something of the fetishism concealed in the originals. What fundamentally captured the artist’s interest was the structure itself of these images: these women who are decorated to an unparalleled extent fit into their frames precisely as if they too are “on display.” As in the series of purses and necklaces, the finely nuanced surfaces of the images lure the viewer close and elicit and intimate gaze, making the courtship between picture and beholder a central axis of her work. This exhibition presents paintings and drawings from Gitman’s “On Display” series.
[Image: Victoria Gitman “On Display” (partial) (2010)]
Precisely as if repeating the iterations of actual beaded embroidery, the artist paints each bead individually, limiting her painting time from morning onwards for as long as the sun is in the sky. The soft light that envelops her motifs at the time when she must cease painting allows us to sense the light, air and humidity of the natural environments where her motifs are positioned.
Concurrent with “On Display”, Gitman also continues to work on the series “The Beauties”, which consists of female portraits based on postcards of Renaissance paintings. In the resulting series of small works, details such as braided hair, pearl necklaces and gold embroidery that even in the older works were diligently depicted, in the minute precision with which they are rendered here reveal something of the fetishism concealed in the originals. What fundamentally captured the artist’s interest was the structure itself of these images: these women who are decorated to an unparalleled extent fit into their frames precisely as if they too are “on display.” As in the series of purses and necklaces, the finely nuanced surfaces of the images lure the viewer close and elicit and intimate gaze, making the courtship between picture and beholder a central axis of her work. This exhibition presents paintings and drawings from Gitman’s “On Display” series.
[Image: Victoria Gitman “On Display” (partial) (2010)]
Schedule | Mar 19 (Wed) 2014-Apr 14 (Mon) 2014 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Mar 19 (Wed) 2014 18:00 - 20:00 Artist talk begin at 18:30. | ||
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| Fee | Free | ||
| Venue | Shibuya Hikarie 8/ Art gallery http://www.hikarie.jp/8/en/  | ||
| Location | 8F Shibuya Hikarie, 2-21-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002 | ||
| Access | Direct walk from exit B5 at Shibuya Station on the Fukutoshin and Hanzomon lines or Tokyu Den-en-toshi line, Direct walk from the 2nd floor passageway of Shibuya Station on the JR or Keio line. | ||
| Phone | 03-6434-1493 | ||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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