Posts Tagged ‘Paris’

Thoughts in the studio today. Stacks, towers and painting.

Saturday, December 1st, 2018

A bit of colour in the studio today. How many colours and layers can I stack up on top of one another?

 

 

 

They remind me of Claude Courtecuisse’s   “Hacking Objects” sculptures I saw in Paris at the Georges Pompidou Museum in 2007.

He erected towers and stacks of common objects.

 

Image photographed from original 2007 catalogue. Copyright Georges Centre Pompidou Original photos Copyright Claude Courtecuisse. 2007

 

 

Balance, colour, repetition, scale and transparency is what I took away from that exhibition.

 

  Copyright Jenny Davis

 

As a child, I too, would build little towers of objects in my bedroom.

Still today I play and stack with my vast collection of vintage objects.

The towers have been getting higher and higher over time and eventually, I aim to make huge, tall one’s, up to the roof or even higher.

 

 

Now back to the painting…I’m not sure if I’ve resolved it yet, as something about it is still annoying me. Maybe that’s a good thing?… as sometimes things that are a bit odd are more successful.

I think I will sit with it a bit longer.

 

View of Urban Paris.

Friday, April 6th, 2018

One thing leads to another, everything is connected…

split second images flash by –  embed

opening cracks

rough

rust

decay

rubble

dirt

paint

crumble

torn

scratchy

weathered

worn

unseen

forgotten

abandoned beauty…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Spaces Below” Jenny Davis

Saturday, March 17th, 2018

Jenny Davis

Spaces Below

11th – April – 20th May

Official Opening: Friday April 13th –  6.00 – 7.30 pm

Dear Friends

Jenny Davis would like to invite you to her new exhibition, “Spaces Below”

 in the beautiful Yarra Valley, at the historical Yering Station at Yarra Glen in Victoria.

Exhibition runs – April 11th – May 20th

Address – Yering Station Art Gallery
38 Melba Highway Yarra Glen

Opening Times – Monday-Friday
10:00am – 5:00pm
Weekends & Public Holidays (including Anzac Long weekend)
10:00am – 6:00 pm

 

Commission from all sales will be donated to… L.A.R.C.H. 

(Leukaemia Auxiliary Royal Children’s Hospital)

 

For more information please contact

Dr Ewen Jarvis

Curator

Yering Station Gallery

PO Box 390

Yarra Glen Vic 3775

P + 61 3 9730 0100

M + 0400 894 646

artgallery@yering.com

www.yering.com

 

Yering Station is located at 38 Melba Hwy Yering 3770 Victoria, Australia. Directions.

Art Blog Diaries. Reminiscing & Evolving as an Artist.

Saturday, May 13th, 2017

I started this blog back in the early 2000’s as a sort of diary, to document my work and creative life and to give something back to others.

 

 

Going through some of my old posts recently, I was able to pin point, some pivotal moments in my life, of where my ideas and artworks originally came from, why my work and arts practice has changed and how, it’s evolved over the years, to where it is today.

 

 

 

After visits to Europe, UK and an arts residency in Spain, in 2005, I especially noticed some changes in the way I was working. Though I have always worked between disciplines, painting was always my main form of expression. I was becoming more dissatisfied with just painting and found it hard to do any creative work for awhile. Then, after a 3 month stay in France 2007, I realized I could no longer, only use paint, to express my ideas.

 

 

 

 

This led to a series of experimental installations, videos and a book of photographs. Touched by Dada and Surrealist ideas, I had to re-access what I was doing as an artist.

 

 

 

 

 

The installation and video below “Parisgrit” was shown at Tilt Gallery, in Melbourne in 2006. I can see quite a few interesting elements in it, but it’s way too long and very noisy. Maybe someday, I will get around to re-working it and revamping it into something else.

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/qUp3r-oEa-I

 

 

By looking back over my old blog posts or (diary entries) I find it helpful, to reflect on the areas, where I can make improvements and expand on previous ideas. I can also see where, my ideas have come from. I get a glimpse of how & why, my artwork, techniques and materials have changed over time and maybe where I could be heading in my arts practice.

Versailles Palace. Patterns and work in progress.

Tuesday, October 4th, 2016

Versailles palace and grounds in France are extremely lavish and over the top, with gold everywhere. During my visit , I enjoyed the eclectic mix of textures and patterns of the wallpapers, the swaths of lush  curtaining at the windows and the textiles on the furniture, elegant and beautiful.

Each piece in the palace was finished off to perfection with lots of intricate patterns and pure gold, gilding. The floors were creaky, but full of character. There were, extravagant marble walls, flooring and decorative marble fireplaces everywhere.

Below is a sample of some of the surfaces at Versailles and work in progress I am making from my little studio in France.

Gathering Inspiration in Paris.

Friday, September 16th, 2016

Gathering Inspiration in Paris.

Its been a awhile since I’ve been in Paris but feels like I haven’t been away at all, this time. I’ve spent the week soaking up the atmosphere, the smells, the heat, the food.

jenny-davis_fromage-paris-2016

Its a really busy, vibrant, city and far from the peace and quite of the Yarra Valley, but, being out of my comfort zone allows me to explore and experiment other ways of working and documenting experiences.

img20160912090337sm

Today I played around with a few ideas. I have been particularly drawn to the architecture especially, the small intricate, decorative patterns within.

Sketch Jenny Davis 2016

I’m looking forward to a visit to Versailles palace to see all the decorative bits. Especially the antique furniture wallpaper and textile designs.

Upstairs at Duroc Magazine. Paris. Terras Tower Drawing.

Thursday, October 15th, 2015

Upstairs at Duroc Magazine. Paris. Terras Tower Drawing.

I would like to thank all at “Upstairs at Duroc” for once again selecting my artwork for your exciting magazine.

The launch for issue 16, of “Upstairs at Duroc” literally and Arts Journal of Paris is on tonight in Paris. Come and hear work by some of the contributors, buy a copy, have a drink before/after the event at the bar on the lower level by the Canal St. Martin.

 

 

Terras Tower by Jenny Davis

Terras Tower by Jenny Davis

 

 

 

So, come join us for a FREE evening of celebration to launch the new issue with readings/performances by CAROLE BIRKAN, DYLAN HARRIS, PANSY MAURER-ALVAREZ, JODY POU and CHRIS TYSH. More details here

Art Squats. Hybrid Arts. Studio in a box Paris.

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

I believe art can no longer be only confined within the walls of established art institutions and be thought as only painting or sculpture. At a time when we are at the peak of global creativity I see artists refusing to be labelled and contained. Art venues and spaces are struggling to keep up and are experimenting with new ways to present this explosion of creative output artists for multidisciplinary and multidimensional.

When I was in Paris last time, I saw evidence of this. In a city of almost 300,000 living artists Paris seems to find creative outlets for multidisciplinary and multidimensional. Little “Hybrid art” spaces are popping up everywhere in the streets. Artists themselves have had to think of innovative ways to get their art seen. Many making their home an art space open to the public.

Art squats, sandwiched between homes in residential areas, art has taken over abandoned buildings where a rich cultural life of concerts, debates, exhibitions, lectures and workshops unravels in clandestine venues.

When I’m in Paris I have a couple of creative spaces I made out of necessity. “Studioinabox” and “The Dungeon”

 

 

“Studioinabox” is a wooden trunk in the apartment living room where all my creative materials are stored. I create the work on top of the box or the floor space. I  may even display or exhibit in side the box. As I move from country to country, my “nomad art’ has to be small and transportable. I enjoy the challenge creating in the immediate space and using only items, I collect from the streets,used packaging and a few other bought art supplies that I can fit into my “Studioinabox’

 

‘The Dungeon” is a space underneath an apartment block in Paris. It’s damp, smelly and creepy with dark corridors, full of earth walls with red wooden doors. The lights are on a timer and go out every minute, so you can be stuck in a very unearthly dark abyss, if you don’t press one of the buttons on the wall quick enough. I have devised a way to stop them turning off and over the years, I have become more brave and allow myself to connect to the dark hole, for longer periods. Eventually I want to open the space and show my video and photography down there. I also have ideas of a performance in the space.

In Australia, I find there are too many artists and not enough art spaces as well. So, I’m playing around with a few ideas using my home and website, as my art space for all sorts of creative experiments. Nothing, is fully formulated or resolved yet, and will keep you all informed of my progress from this blog.

Do you have a special space where you create and show your work?