Tess Jaray's painting Solomon and the Queen of Sheba III (2019) is part of Whitechapel Gallery's Art Icon Charity Auction with all proceeds benefitting Whitechapel Gallery's Education Programmes. This online auction runs 16 – 23 March 2022.
Engaging young people, community groups, families, schools and teachers, Whitechapel Gallery's pioneering activities enrich over 14,000 people each year through free experiences led by contemporary artists and cultural creatives.
From the online catalogue:
Solomon and The Queen of Sheba III is an exquisite example of Jaray’s masterful handling of form, composition and colour to create a harmonious whole. Her work abounds with references to Art History, and this painting belongs to a series completed in 2019 inspired by the paintings of Piero della Francesca. Jaray is particularly sensitive to light and space – recalling the first time she saw della Francesca’s work, she commented 'one is staggered to see pure light distilled and collected in these simple shapes.' In this work, five pale circles and an off-centre rectangle hover above two green fields. Light is inseparable from colour, and painting radiates ‘pure light’ in the contrast between the greens and pinks.
