Jill Kempson : Remain in Light - Recent Paintings and Drawings - Galerie Dusseldorf 23 May

Exhibition Review The West 05/06/04

In this exhibition Western Australian artist Jill Kempson is showing an exciting new body of paintings, based on her research done at Monsieur Beres's collection and bookshop in Paris. Monsieur Beres possesses some of the most sought after books and old manuscripts in Europe. Jill was able to make notes and drawings in Beres's bookshop over a six week period in September 2001.
Resulting from this time in Paris Jill has produced a unique collection of works.
Remain in Light reflects her fascination with light and is shaped around a collection of works on canvas and books. The latter, a meticulously hand painted series of images on books, make reference to early Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Medieval and Renaissance periods yet are contemporary at the same time. Tiny oil paintings inserted into books play upon the notion of fiction and history and text itself, yet manage to evoke a sense of sacred space.
On show also, are larger works on canvas of urban Paris, interiors and landscapes from the south of France. Jill has been developing her ability in using paint to depict the effects of light. By reducing the colour range and concentrating on tonal qualities, she has been able to create paintings that engage the viewer in distilled moments of time - a certain tranquility, subtlety and mystery that she sees in the world around her.
Jill received funding from ArtsWa for her research at M. Beres's bookshop.

TWO themes are central to Jill Kempson's show at GaIerie Dusseldorf: light and books. ‘Remain in Light’ is the title of the exhibition and of three works in which a young girl stands under an open window, through which light floods into a bare room. It bathes the cream.walls with light in a manner reminiscent of Vermeet:
Like a minimal abstract, a painting of this nature demands precision of execution. Kempson is up to it however: The paint is pressed into the rough-toothed canvas so that the gradations of light against the pIaster are beautifully translated, instilling into the room a feeling of expectant tranquillity.A suitcase and a broom are the only other presences in the room, prompting an allegorical reading of the work. The theme of light is not only about seeing but about enlightenment.
Kempson has just returned to WA from a period of research in an antiquarian bookshop in Paris. Many works in this exhibition refer directly to this experience. Quiet Ecstasy is one of a series in which a small painting is inset into the text of an open book. The painting is of a beautiful young woman with closed eyes. The book is The Dialogues of Plato, which is open at pages that discuss the problem of the body as a dangerous source of "loves and lusts".
In another series, small reproductions of famous paintings have been repainted and embedded in boards, on to which texts from books have been pasted and lightly sealed with paint-tinted varnish. These works play with notions of the meaning of a painting being embedded in the text of its own contemporary culture.
Other works include allegorical landscapes and street scenes of Paris. This is a beautiful exhibition in which the aesthetic of the works is carefully balanced by their meanings. They evoke a sense of silence and mystery, which suggests that enlightenment comes not only through reading books but also from the stillness of inner experience.
The West Australian :Arts review by Simon Blond Saturday 5 June 2004
Jill Kempson
‘Remain in Light’
Galerie Düsseldorf
23 May – 13 June 2004

Scroll down for exhibition catalogue

Rue Saint Rustique 2003
Oil on Canvas
130.5 x 90 cm
$ 5,500 (Acquired)

Cat and the Boulangerie 2003
Oil on Canvas
118 x 40 cm
$ 4,000 (Acquired)

Remain in Light III 2002
Oil on Canvas
112 x 82 cm
$ 5,500

All in Stillness Stands 2 2003
Oil on Canvas
40 x 120 cm
$ 4,000 (Acquired Private Collection)

Fondation Maeght II 2004
Oil on Canvas
132 x 80 cm
$ 5,500

Fondation Maeght I 2003
Oil on Canvas
60 x 67 cm
$ 4,000

Remain in Light I 2002
Oil on Canvas
56 x 41 cm
$ 4,000 (Acquired Private Collection)

Subterranean Corridor 2002
Oil on Canvas
56 x 43 cm
$ 3,000 (Acquired Private Collection)

Boulangerie 48 rue Descartes (5e Arr.) 1911 2004
Oil on Board
64 x 60 cm
$ 3,000

10.

Wine, Bread and Cheese 2003
Oil on Canvas
46 x 56 cm
$ 3,000 (Acquired Private Collection)

11.

Pathway 2003
Oil on Canvas
56 x 43 cm
$ 3,000

12.

Remain in Light II 2002
Oil on Canvas
56 x 43 cm
$ 3,000 (Acquired Private Collection)

13.

The Cloud 2002
Oil on Canvas
56 x 43 cm
$ 3,000

14.

Chinese Philosopher 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 (includes shelf structure)

15.

Medieval Spanish Copyist 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 ( includes shelf structure)

16.

The Scribe Heti 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 ( includes shelf structure)

17.

Bodhisattva Chekhawa 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 ( includes shelf structure)

18.

Sufi Philosopher 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 ( includes shelf structure)

19.

Ancient Grecian Woman 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 ( includes shelf structure)

20.

Franciscan Monk 2003
Oil on Book
25.5 x 36.5 x 3 cm
$ 1,800 ( includes shelf structure)

.
A Sculptor (after Andrea de Sarto) 2003
Oil, Acrylic Binder, Paper on Board
27 x 36 cm
$ 1,600 (Acquired)

22.

A Poet (after Palma Vecchio) 2003
Oil, Acrylic Binder, Paper on Board
27 x 36 cm
$ 1,600

23.

Vision of Saint Eustace (after Antonio Pisanello) 2003
Oil, Acrylic Binder, Paper on Board
27 x 36 cm
$ 1,600

24.

Still Life – Wine, Bread and Cheese (after Jean B Siméon Chardin) 2003
Oil, Acrylic Binder, Paper on Board
27 x 36 cm
$ 1,600

25.

Tobias and the Angel (after Antonio Pisanello) 2003
Oil, Acrylic Binder, Paper on Board
27 x 36 cm
$ 1,600

26.

Coast Scene – A Calm (after Adriaen Brouwer) 2003
Oil, Acrylic Binder, Paper on Board
27 x 36 cm
$ 1,600

27.

The River 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
18 x 24 x 4.5 cm
$ 1,600

28.

Two Astrologers 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
22 x 28 x 4.5 cm
$ 1,600

29.

The Meeting 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
17 x 22 x 3 cm
$ 1,600 (Acquired Private Collection)

30.

The Apple Tree 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
17.5 x 23 x 3 cm
$ 1,600

31.

Subterranean Corridor 1 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
20 x 26.5 x 5 cm
$ 1,600

32.

Quiet Ecstasy 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
21 x 28 x 4.5 cm
$ 1,600 (Acquired Private Collection)

33.

Great Calmness of Reason 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
17.5 x 24 x 4 cm
$ 1,600

34.

The Cloud 1 2002
Oil on Board inset into Book
22 x 27 x 2.5 cm
$ 1,600

35.

The Experiment 2002
Oil on Archival Museum Board
20 x 24 cm
$ 1,500 (Acquired)

36.

Tobias and the Angel 2002
Oil on Archival Museum Board
14 x 21 cm
$ 1,200

37.

Remain in Light II 2002
Oil on Board
15 x 11 cm
$ 1,200 (Acquired)

Eugene Atget was a photographer of Old Paris between 1897 and 1927. "His work is regarded as the bridge between 19th century topographic photography and the so-called art documentary of the 20th century". In the Atget series I used his photography as a reference for these images. I was attracted by their subtle tonalities and the elusive moods they capture. Also I discovered that he intended his photographs to be used by artists as studies for their work. On his door was a sign saying "Documents Pour Artistes". In painting these works I felt I was somehow honoring his intention 100 years later.

38.

Parc de Saint Cloud bassin de la Petite Gerbe 1904 2004
Oil on Board
15 x 18.5 cm
$ 1,500 (Acquired Private Collection)

39.

Versailles, coin de parc 1901 Bassin de Saturne 2004
Oil on Board
18.5 x 15 cm
$ 1,500 (Acquired Private Collection)

40.

Jardin du Luxembourg, fontaine de Médicis (6e Arr.) 1902 2004
Oil on Board
18.5 x 15 cm
$ 1,500 (Acquired Private Collection)

41.

Au Coq Hardi, 18 quai de la Mégisserie (1er, Arr.) 1902 2004
Oil on Board
18.5 x 15 cm
$ 1,500