Visionaries: Christianity and the Visual Arts

Christianity and the Visual Arts

At the Table: Susan Pietsch

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Susan Pietsch

No (Wo)Man is an Island, Mixed media on canvas, 76cm x 26cm

Artist Statement

When first exploring this topic I reflected on that only males are discussed at being at the “table” of the last supper. Did this mean that women were not invited to the table? Then I thought about it a bit more. Did it mean that only Middle Eastern Jewish males were invited to the table then? Each time I classified the original people present, it was like the community fragmented a bit more. More and more barriers were put in place to who could come to the table. Only males of certain trades, geographic location… on and on. It’s like we do this all the time with community. We continually fragment it with more rules on who is in and who is out based on the most arbitrary things. It reminded me about the schism between mainland Brisbane-ites and their island living neighbours, each considering the other the outsider, not part of the community. Then it goes a further level with individual island populations considering the other island populations outsiders to their community. We are so good are at building barriers, at fragmenting ourselves.

This work picks up the coastline of Brisbane, fragmenting and drifting off into the sea as a reflection on the way we fragment our society. Once it was all part of one land but over time more and more pieces have broken off and floated away. Large, small, various shapes and sizes of land, islands of communities, surrounded by oceans of misunderstanding and conflict. We isolate ourselves at our peril. Our challenge is instead to welcome all to the table, to truly celebrate the other and invite everyone to be part of the Open Table –men, women, every nation, every occupation…

“No (Wo)man is an Island” is a mixed media piece on canvas and continues the development of my art using painted cutwork. A cross over from my period of working with textiles, cutwork (in embroidery terms) or paper cutting (in mainstream art terms) has come to be the play of overlaying two parts of the story. Each section – painted canvas and painted cutwork -contributes to the whole.

For further information or for purchase please contact me on susan@essentialtextileart.com. To see more of my work go to www.susanpietsch.com.au

At the Table: Gregg Nowell

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Gregg Nowell

The Table Lays Bare but the Scares Remain, Acrylic and gouche on canvas, varnished with gold leaf, 60.5cm x 71cm

Artist Statement

We often see images of The Last Supper (Leonard da Vinci) and wonder at the placement of the figures and their symbolic meaning and, at times, consider the impact on the lives that shared their last meal with their Lord. But what in fact happened to the table after the meal? Was the food discarded? Were the cups and plates thrown away? Is it important to know what became of the “sacred” food, cutlery and crockery?

This artwork lays bare the table, or is it a slab of marble, what does it signify to you.

Note the rusted nail is placed central to the table. What does it remind you of and is this important to you?

To the artist the painting signifies the material in this world and, although his Lord may have used them, they are now discarded. In all of this it is a remainder that the Lord still bares the physical scars of the nails and the scars of Rejection, Deceit and utter Despair.

At the Table: Kerry Holland

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Kerry Holland

  1. Celadon Blue, 54.5cm x 64.5cm, Oil and mixed media on canvas

2. Sunrise Bowl, Stoneware with porcelain, shino glaze, reduction fired.

3. Blue spotted White Bowl, Southern Ice porcelain bowl.

Installation arrangement:

Interested in Kerry’s work? She can be contacted on:

email: kerry.a.holland@gmail.com

At the Table: Jennifer Long

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Jennifer Long

  1. Charcoal and Lace, 60cm x 60cm, Mixed media.

In Charcoal and Lace vessels act like silent observers of life and landscape. Grouped as a suite they sit on a threshold seeming to balance between a real and imagined world. Are they looking out or in and what do they observe? Their form and elements of architecture hint at the human presence.

On plywood, collage elements sourced from personally etched rice paper, solvent released images and torn paper have been assembled with oil paint, charcoal and ink, in a still life montage of memory and imagination.

2. Little Brown Jug, 60cm x 60cm, Mixed media.

In ‘Little Brown Jug’ the vessels are part of my collection of life’s fragments. Their scarified forms reveal marks and textures of daily rituals. They hold an abundance which hints at what life offers. Grouped as a suite the vessels of mixed media on ply act like silent observers balancing between the real and imagined world.

3. On the Edge, 43cm x 43cm, Mixed media on ply

In this work  are revealed observations of internal and external landscapes. The vessel is used as a recurring emblem to suggest the human presence. Three vessels perch on a table before a curtained window silently observing life’s passing, their surfaces reflecting the memories and marks of that passage. They balance on the threshold between metaphorical and physical realms.

The image is a collaged work of mixed media – etched and solvent release transfers on ricepaper, oil and charcoal on ply.

Interested in Jennifer Long’s work? She can be contacted on:

E: jenniferlongart@gmail.com

or visit her website at:

W: www.jenniferlong.net

At the Table: Marion McMonaghy

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Marion McConaghy

The Table’s Journey, Mixed media on canvas, 90cm x 120cm

Artist Statement

I painted this image as a way of processing the impact of life changing events. When something you have always counted on, something that you rest on, is swept away. It is then that one looks at what’s left and one’s faith.

 

At the Table: Barbara Niczynski

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Barbara Niczynski

Leaving the Table, Acrylic on canvas, 28cm x 35cm

Artist Statement

A look at grief.  When one leaves a long term relationship, the other is left to grieve at the loss of rituals such as breakfast at the table.  She too must leave the table, and come back with a new ritual that encompasses completeness in breakfast for one. 

I thought of musical notes now missing: the clink of the spoon against the coffee cup, the scrape of the chair, the baritone cough.  I thought about what now must come, a determination to continue and write a new song.

Autopsy Table, Pen and watercolour, 28cm x 35cm

 

Want to know more about Barbara’s work? Contact her on barbniz@live.com.au