LUCELENCE | On light and beauty
Maria Gravias
7 - 28 September 2024
Opening Reception: Thursday 12th August, 6 - 8 pm
West End Art Space
Artist Statement
A number of artists look to historical precedents as a starting point for their pictorial language. Maria Gravias has clearly absorbed the example of the Dutch still life of the 17th and 18th centuries. There is also in her dramatically lit compositions evidence of a familiarity with the use of light in the paintings of Caravaggio. Contrasting textures and surfaces in her exquisitely contrived tondi carefully capture the richness of the objects depicted.’
Peter Haynes, Curator, Visual Arts Historian and Writer
Review of Objets de la Vie at Grainger Gallery, Canberra Times, 1 May 2021
Chasing and seizing beauty and light via the conduit of the photographic still life genre is my métier. It fascinates me; it propels me; it sustains me; and it is my raison d’être. The paradoxes of life: humanity versus inhumanity; beauty versus ugliness; life versus death; war versus peace; fecundity versus decay; and light versus dark, have always intrigued me. My practice is an antidote and my way of countering the unspeakable violence, avarice and vulgarity on our planet. The issues of death, time and consumption are key to the still life genre, and they are all issues that remain central to society today, just as they were centuries ago when the art of still life flourished, reaching its zenith in 16th and 17th century Netherlands. Frequently dismissed and derided, the still life genre sat at the bottom of the artistic genres of historical and allegorical painting. However, the genre continues to inspire contemporary artists. You just have to view the work of artists working in this genre on the social media platform Instagram to realise just how resolutely pervasive it still is.
Philosophy is at the heart of my practice. I have always had an abiding interest and respect for philosophy, aesthetics and the metaphysical domain—the complex ideas embedded in differing world views and how we choose to navigate our lives in line with those belief systems. For instance, in Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world view centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. ‘Wabi’ is a mindset that appreciates humility, simplicity and frugality as routes to tranquility and contentment. ‘Sabi’ has come to communicate a deep and tranquil beauty that emerges with the passage of time.
In line with this aesthetic, one of the main aims of my photographic practice is to invite the viewer to contemplate and meditate on the extraordinary beauty and simplicity of the ordinary objects around us. We often dismiss the banal but my photographic imagery attempts to iconise those everyday objects and elevate them to command respect from the viewer. My aim is to animate the inanimate to convey a narrative. Still life tells a story without uttering a word. Each carefully selected object becomes a silent storyteller.
The search and acquisition of objects for my still life photographs is intrinsic to my practice. I find them in a myriad of locations—personal collections, antique bazaars and opportunity shops. Like many still life artists I am a collector and house my collection in my ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ or ‘Wunderkammer’. The idea of ‘Wunderkammer’ (cabinets of wonder) was born in the 16th century as the royal courts of Europe became less peripatetic and as humanist philosophy spread. In Inscriptiones vel tituli theatri amplissimi (1565) Samuel von Quiccheberg detailed the ideal formula for the Wunderkammer as including naturalia (items drawn from nature), artificialia (items wrought by man), mirabilia (unusual natural phenomena), ethnographica (items from the wider world), scientific (items of science and the universe) and artefacta (items relating to history). Which brings me to motifs that are utilised extensively in my imagery, seashells for example, which I have collected since I was a child.
My work strongly references the historical and pays homage to the long-standing tradition of the still life genre. Seventeenth century Dutch still life painting and the Vanitas tradition are my principal sources of inspiration. Vanitas still lifes include objects with symbolic importance (such as skulls, flowers, hourglasses, fruit, insects, seafood, books, jewellery) that convey a narrative through their symbolism to highlight the fragility and transience of human existence. Seashells are also splendid symbolic examples of the beauty left behind every life following death; with only a shell remaining where the soul endures. The intricate spiral shapes of some seashells symbolise eternal life and a safe journey from this world. In the Dutch Golden Age (16th and 17th centuries), seashells became popular collectable objects because they were considered rare and exotic. They arrived in the Dutch Republic on trading ships from the Dutch East and West Indies. They were found in collectors’ Wunderkammer and became common subjects in Dutch still lifes.
With the inclusion of seashells in my work (for example Suite of Nine Seashells) it is my goal to embrace and alchemise the conventions of the historical still life genre to make visually engaging contemporary photographic work. Symbolism also plays a central role in my choice of pictorial format. Many of my works are ‘tondos’—a Renaissance term used to describe a circular work of art. Circles are symbolic and speak to the cycle of life. Life is circuitous—life, death, rebirth—notions that were central to the Dutch still life.
Alongside beauty, light also preoccupies me. The two tenets of the photographic medium are time and light. Light is in essence invisible until it strikes an object and turns the ordinary into the magical. I have made a conscious choice to utilise natural light in my practice as it reinforces the verisimilitude of my images and strengthens my connection to historical precedents. In the 16th and 17th Dutch Golden Age artists were fascinated with natural light and its optical effects, such as reflection and refraction, on lustrous and highly polished surfaces like silver, pewter and glass. Some may see the use of natural light as a constraint, but I find it rewarding. I work by a large window and rely mostly on the soft early morning and afternoon light or cloudy days, when there is no direct sunlight.
I’m also intrigued with the trajectory of light and the play of light on surfaces, in particular, chiaroscuro —a canonical mode of Renaissance painting that uses strong contrasts between light and dark, creating mood and mystery and spatial depth. In my compositions, objects are arranged theatrically and as advantageously as possible to capture the viewer’s attention and invite the viewer to savour a moment in time. As previously mentioned, Dutch still lifes were imbued with symbolism and there were sophisticated ciphers that the educated and cultured viewer was expected to decode. The genre offered opportunities for both moral contemplation, academic and scientific study. Fruit and vegetables, also common motifs in my work, symbolise the ephemerality existence. Life, light and beauty are fleeting. Still lifes are time capsules. My artistic goal is to capture time and convey that ephemeral beauty—for what is life without light and beauty?
18 August 2024
This exhibition is dedicated to my parents Arthur and Katina Gravias.
I would like to acknowledge Brad Davis, Icon Frames, Brunswick, for collaborating with me to manifest my vision for the twenty-five bespoke frames included in LUCELENCE | On light & beauty. Brad’s expertise, and exemplary craftsmanship, is evident in these beautiful 17th Century Dutch inspired frames crafted to my specifications. My intention was to make the frames integral to the artworks they house and Brad has met that remit. My heartfelt gratitude is extended to Brad and his partner, Libby Herman, for going above and beyond throughout this artistic process.
