NYAB Event - Irene Hardwicke Olivieri "Some kind of wilderness"

Irene Hardwicke Olivieri "Some kind of wilderness"

ACA Galleries

This event has ended.

Devils and their trumpets, female adventurers armed with quivers of paintbrushes, and bandoliers of paint roam the walls between large, personal portraits in "Some kind of wilderness", an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Irene Hardwicke Olivieri. Themes of inner and outer wilderness—the true province of the artist—are projected outward for us to inhabit at her side. The show's title can be heard as a howl of disbelief (the artist recently lost her father), or an exclamation of gratitude. It conjures up heroic odysseys with their nude female heroines lifting paintbrushes and paint against harsh, ambiguous environments, reclaiming their lives. Later, we see these same girls as strong, active and prepared "tree-top troopers"; explorers fully equipped with sable-tipped brushes, palettes, water jars, shiny tubes of pigment acting as talismans to create hope. There's a sense of being "fully prepared," as in Better is the Ready, able to capture anything with her art, which may also serve in a child-like universe, as the best protection against misfortune. Throughout the show, Hardwicke Olivieri explores the word wilderness turning it over emotionally and visually. Paradisiacal events and long lines of writing, rattle or glide over many of the paintings, adding an archaic glaze while pouring out messages and secrets of the natural world.

Media

• Painting
• Drawing

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