Private Views | Thursday - Saturday, 23 - 25 Sep 2021, 5 – 7 pm
Unit 102, 225 Anfu Lu, Xuhui District, Shanghai 200031
CHRISTINE PARK GALLERY is delighted to present its first solo exhibition by artist Jenny Pockley. It will be the first show at the gallery’s new space on Anfu Lu, in the historical heart of Shanghai's former French Concession. This exhibition showcases Jenny Pockley’s atmospheric studies exploring the mystery of the natural landscape. They uncover the monumentality of mountain tops, the drama of the oceans and the strange tranquillity of the clouds. We are invited to gaze at the hazy ethereality of Pockley’s work, embodying a distant memory of a landscape rather than displaying a rigid notational style.
In her skilful rendering and command of colour, Jenny Pockley has produced these celestial moodscapes. The altered perspective creates a distance between the viewer and the landscape, projected into isolation the viewer feels a sense of calm and timelessness. Unifying the softness of her technique with the eeriness of her subject matter, Pockley achieves a simplicity and immediacy in her work while displaying a great complexity in technique and style.
My paintings of Clouds, Waves and Mountains appear to be suspended in time. They are still, beautiful; imagery created by the fall of light. On first appearance, I want them to look idyllic, but I equally want to convey the presence of a powerful force that could easily overwhelm the viewer. Brush marks and evidence of the artist’s activities are absent; the surface is smooth and softened to enhance the mystery in these works. The paintings cultivate the viewer’s emotions and assimilate memories, and yet are representative of all times. They verge on the abstract as the viewer becomes absorbed by the subtle play of colours reminiscent of Rothko. For me, the process of how I make the work is vital and says something about the content of the work. The paint quality is made up of thin veils of colour which are washed onto an ultra-smooth gesso surface; the tonal variations built up and softened using the 'wet into wet' process. The materials and surfaces used are key to the work and add to its delicate timelessness. Ultimately, as time is spent looking at these paintings, they appear to hover and envelop the viewer.
Traditionally, landscape paintings have been split into three parts:
Sky, Middle Ground, and Foreground. Within this group of work, I want to readdress the three parts of a landscape in Elements: Clouds, Mountains and Waves. Each Element is isolated and highlighted to reduce the noise around. In doing so, we can consider the element itself and get ‘lost’ in the experience. While looking at an object devoid of time and space, the viewer empties out the unnecessary aspects. As the subject becomes abstract, the quality of the paint, colour and tone becomes equal to the subject matter. We are immersed in the experience and drift between the sensation of the element, the effect of the colours and the drama of the tonal shifts.
Jenny Pockley
August 2021
About the Artist
Born in the UK in 1972, Jenny Pockley gained a post graduate diploma from the Royal Academy Schools, London in 1997 after studying for a BA(Hons) Fine Art Degree at KIAD in Canterbury. She has exhibited extensively in London but has also displayed works in Bath, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Toronto. She has gained numerous commissions, both private and corporate, including for the Waldorf Astoria group and Tiffany’s. She lives and works in Rye, East Sussex.
