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Ann-Marie James: Le Monde Moderne

Past exhibition
25 November 2015 - 6 January 2016
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Overview
Ann-Marie James, Le Monde Moderne

In Le Monde Moderne, James turns her focus to the work of early twentieth-century art nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha, focusing in particular on his best-known drawings of the actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Edel Assanti in association with Karsten Schubert is pleased to present Le Monde Moderne, an exhibition of new work by Ann-Marie James.

 

Ann-Marie James's works explore her fascination with transformation, metamorphosis and the representation of corporal form. In Le Monde Moderne, James turns her focus to the work of early twentieth-century art nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha, focusing in particular on his best-known drawings of the actress Sarah Bernhardt.

 

Reformulating Mucha’s depiction of the female figure, James makes sketches from sections of drawings in the book, in turn using software to replicate, alter and layer them. These images are then laser-engraved onto dark walnut or ash and maple wooden boards, and overlayered with ink, acrylic and oil paint. Through this multifaceted process, James revisits works of the past (previously having approached Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, 1622–25), translating formal and atmospheric essence into pure gestural texture, dissolving figurative nuances into abstract motion. Her works retain a subliminal proximity to the source material – although no longer corporally referential, the evocative desire of Mucha’s notorious depictions of Bernhardt still permeates these paintings. The fairytale titles of the works recall Mucha’s own (La Grenouille enchantée, Le Cheveu merveilleux, Le Monde Moderne), inviting a fantastical, fluid interpretation.

 

In addition to her paintings, the exhibition includes a selection ink and acrylic drawings, executed directly on the plates of the antique bound book of Mucha’s works. These works illustrate the transition elicited by James’ process, often stemming from depictions of the female form via the male gaze. Something of the control that Mucha progressively relinquished to his female models is echoed in James’ deconstructed derivations; at once a tribute and an act of adaptation, James forces the subtlety of form to centre stage.

 

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, published by Ridinghouse, which includes an essay by Charlie Fox.

 

Private view: Tuesday, 24 November 2015, 6–8pm.

 

See Edel Assanti for further information.

 

Edel Assanti

74a Newman Street

London

W1T 3DB, UK [map]

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Works
  • Ann-Marie James Little Fred, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    Little Fred, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James La Méchante Femme, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    La Méchante Femme, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James Histoire d'un moucheron, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    Histoire d'un moucheron, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James Les Deux Maria, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    Les Deux Maria, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James La Grenouille enchantée, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    La Grenouille enchantée, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James Le Monde Moderne, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    Le Monde Moderne, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James , sans-serif;">Petite psychologie, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    , sans-serif;">Petite psychologie, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James , sans-serif;">Le Cheveu merveilleux, 2015 Acrylic and oil on board 60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    , sans-serif;">Le Cheveu merveilleux, 2015
    Acrylic and oil on board
    60 x 90 cm | 23 5/8 x 35 3/8 in
  • Ann-Marie James , sans-serif;">Alphonse Mucha et Son Oeuvre, 2015 Ink and acrylic on 26 pages 24.7 x 18.5 x 1 cm | 9 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 3/8 in
    Ann-Marie James
    , sans-serif;">Alphonse Mucha et Son Oeuvre, 2015
    Ink and acrylic on 26 pages
    24.7 x 18.5 x 1 cm | 9 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 3/8 in
Publications
  • Ann-Marie James

    Ann-Marie James

    Le Monde Moderne Text by Charlie Fox Softback 40 pp, 18 colour ill pages
    Publisher: Ridinghouse 2015
    ISBN: 978 1 909932 17 3
    Dimensions: 28 x 23 cm | 11 1/8 x 9 1/8 in
    Read more

Related artist

  • Ann-Marie James

    Ann-Marie James

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Karsten Schubert London

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London W1F 0LP, UK

tel: +44 (0)20 7734 9002

info@karstenschubert.com

Room 2

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Exhibitions open by appointment

Ridinghouse

46 Lexington Street

London W1F 0LP, UK

tel: +44 (0)20 7734 9008

info@ridinghouse.co.uk

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