003 GESTURE
LIVE CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST MARY CRENSHAW
recorded on
www.facebook.com/LOLWOWSOS/
October 12, 2019
LOL/WOW/SOS: Good morning Mary! Thank you for inviting us to your studio in Milan. In the next few days, we are looking forward to finding out more about your practice and your thoughts on abstract painting today. How are you this morning?
Mary Crenshaw: Hello again! I am fine, thanks and very happy to be having a conversation with you.
LOL/WOW/SOS: I love the space, the gestural movements, and the layers in these paintings. The fluidity and freedom of your brushstrokes are remarkable and I sense a destabilizing weightlessness as if I, as a viewer, float in this abstract space of color and illuminated shapes … Could please tell us about this body of work, your techniques, and your materials? What is the origin, if any, of the shapes and spaces shown in your work.
Mary Crenshaw: Some time ago, I began a series of folded paintings on paper; first making the paintings, then folding them and putting them into painted envelopes. A friend commented that it would have been interesting to use the folds of the paper somehow when creating the work. So, revisiting this concept on a larger scale, I decided to fold the paper first, glue it to a cardboard drawing portfolio, and then produce a painting. Once the glue is dry, I paint the first marks, then proceed to fold the paper and press the paint into other unpainted sections. Then, other marks are applied with brushes, painting knives, or rags. I use acrylic, spray enamel, and some collaged pieces of oil on canvas. The last step is to paint the outside cardboard. Since I haven’t made many of these, I need to make more to develop the idea.
As for the shapes, the oval/circular ones refer to the African migrants in Milan who panhandle using baseball caps as coin receptacles. Migration became a topic that interested me a few years ago after my experience of applying for Italian citizenship. The way Julie Mehretu injects meaning by layering over figurative imagery and giving suggestive titles to her abstract works helped me understand ways I could address this topic. The space simply resulted from the fact that I used paper. With canvas, I tend to over-work, but with paper, for some reason, I can stop myself. Maybe it’s because paper is so luscious.
LOL/WOW/SOS: Thank you for explaining these folded paintings which I find most successful. If I may, allow me to convey what comes to my mind … First, the fact that the paintings are folded make me think of the work by Simon Hantaï and André-Pierre Arnal, both French artists that used the fold as a primary formal component of their work; however, here, in the context of your research pertaining to the immigrants/ migrants in Milan, I perceive that the meaning of the fold is different. It seems the fold here works like a hinge, like something allowing continuity between different worlds/spaces/experiences/memories. The paper, thanks to its thinness, has a history of transportability and has acted as a recording medium for millennia. When folded, the paper can neatly fit into the portfolio, which seems to act as a sort of neutral frame. I wonder if the artwork represents a suitcase of experiences or memories, where each day is folded into the next, holding a whole universe within. Again, considering your research, I start seeing the defined, rounded and square shapes, almost like islands or buildings in the midst of a fluid space. Also, the work brings forth the idea of the “fold” as a representation of our modern time as a world that has an infinite number of folds of space, movement, and time that are continuously being folded and unfolded (Deleuze). I am intrigued by the fact that the reference to the migrant here might actually represent what our culture has become, something in constant movement without a home/center and clear destination/goal. I would be interested in knowing if you see your work as a representation, not only of the migrant situation, but also as a representation of our time in constant flux. On the other hand, the fold here can also make one think of a folded map. In this case, the work then isn’t about the past but rather about the future, where one is hoping to go next. In this sense, I sense a glimmer of hope … I would be curious to know if my reading of your work relates in any way to how you perceive it. I would love to learn more about your thoughts surrounding the fold in your work.
Mary Crenshaw: I am familiar with Hantaï’s work and a few years ago was fortunate to see some of his striking Pliage paintings from the eighties. He used only one color per work and they were very large scale. I remember thinking how strong they were because of their simplicity and how contemporary they seemed, even though they were decades old. Thank you for mentioning him, it might be something to think about for future works on canvas. When the idea first came to mind, I was thinking of Xu Bing’s series of impressive black artists books on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in the exhibition of contemporary Chinese artists paired with works from its Chinese ink painting permanent collection. So, initially I was thinking about making oversize artist books.
Yes, the meaning of the fold in these pieces can be read on multiple levels, and your remark of it acting as a hinge allowing continuity between different worlds is an interesting concept. That Deleuze quote is spot on, as is your observation of our culture being in constant movement. So, yes, this work concerns the constant flux of coming and going. On a personal note, our family is spread out and living on different continents.
The idea was to hide the paintings, and use the portfolios as “frames”. In fact, the grommets for the laces act as hooks to hang the work on the wall. Clandestina, a group show about migration here in Milan, was where I exhibited the first smaller folded works. So, when I began making these larger folded works, my thoughts were of suitcases and hiding.
Another aspect of making folds relates to how the printmaking process has filtered into my paintings. By first drawing imagery, then randomly smearing paint and printing the splotches using the folds allows me to let go of controlling the paint and produces unexpected results.
LOL/WOW/SOS: Thank you for sharing your thoughts on how this new work emerged. I admire your mark-making. It is interesting that you mention Xu Bing, actually I sense an intensity, speed, and directness of your strokes that make me think of oriental calligraphy. On the other hand, the random marks bring a complementary poetic dimension/space to the work, as if they were traces of acts caused by nature, like raindrops, splashing water, or dust in the wind. When you introduce these random marks through smearing or folding, do you use them as an exterior force/structure that you respond to, or have you planned them in advance? It would be interesting to know how you prepare before you start painting and how planning, intuition, and chance enter into your practice. Further, please tell us more about the fluid and layered space in many of your paintings, this is very poetic and inviting. Kindly tell us more about your inspirations.
Mary Crenshaw: Calligraphy interests me, one reason being because of the way ink behaves and the amazing tonal values obtained that come from its fluidity. Two artists and former calligraphers who have been an influence are Zao Wou Ki and Fabienne Verdier. Zao was a Chinese/French abstract expressionist living and working in Paris who studied calligraphy as a boy, and Verdier is a French abstract painter who, after graduating from art school, moved to China and stayed there for ten years, apprenticing to a master calligrapher. One interesting side note about Verdier is the giant calligraphy brush she uses. The brush, made from forty-seven horsetails, hangs from her studio ceiling and is so heavy when it’s loaded with ink that she had to attach handlebars to guide it. Zao combined abstract expressionism with his knowledge of calligraphy to create large oil paintings, lithographs, watercolors, and ceramics.
Unlike Verdier’s totally abstract gestural work, I reference things: houses, rocks, trees, people, body parts, baseball caps, etc. They are rendered in such a way that they appear to be marks. The house cropped up in my work after being invited to exhibit in a group show in the Bow borough of London. The theme was “At Home in Bow.” After researching Bow, I discovered the eighteenth-century Bow China Factory. One motif painted on the cups and saucers titled “Desirable Residence” struck me as something useful that could relate to dislocation. So, I began deconstructing this tranquil image of a house, surrounded with decorative rocks, a plant, and a tree. Now I am still using these shapes, together with the baseball caps as a lexicon for mark making.
The layered space you mention comes from working on a piece at different intervals, because the composition needs more color or drawing to give a feeling of movement. The only planned things are to have the materials on hand. I enjoy working in a series, because one work leads to another, then another. Things begin to make sense to me only after I have made a group. Sometimes this results in some really, really ugly paintings! Discovering Phyllida Barlow helped me get over being perplexed about clumsy outcomes. “The starting point is very raw. It’s often just the urge to begin a work, and to use my experience in a very direct way: pouring, spilling, piling up, all those kinds of ways of filling that empty space in front of me” (Phyllida Barlow in a conversation with Edith Devaney). This is pretty much my mantra, only the spaces I fill are on paper and canvas.
LOL/WOW/SOS: Thank you for telling us about your process and inspirations, as well as sharing the names of some of the artists that inform your practice. I admire the elegance and space of Zao Wou Ki’s paintings and remember Phyllida Barlow’s daring sculptures from the Venice Biennale a few years ago. Both artists are worth some deeper study. Glad to have discovered the impressive work (and brushes!) of Fabienne Verdier. I will share a video about her on this site. You said that in your practice, the only aspect you plan ahead are the materials on hand before you start painting. This leads me to ask you about your material choices. It would be interesting to know the various painting supports that you favor in your practice. You mention that you like to work on paper, what type of paper speaks to you the most? In terms of pigments and binders, tell us what you find the most inspiring to work with. Do you experiment with different types of binders? Your palette seems inspired by nature. How do you choose the colors for a painting or a series of works?
Mary Crenshaw: Depending on the situation, I vacillate between oils and acrylics. If there is a time limit, like a residency, acrylic is best to use. Canson Figueras, an absorbent paper for oil painting that needs no priming, is a good one. For acrylics and watercolors, Fabriano watercolor paper that comes on a roll is very strong, practically indestructible! I keep my palette limited to five colors and buy half-liter Maimeri or Windsor and Newton Galeria acrylics. For canvas, I use charcoal or R&F oil bars for drawing and Michael Harding oil paints. Both are extremely expensive, but they last forever, and a little bit of each goes a long way. The underpainting is usually in acrylics, then the final layers are done with oil bars and oil paint. An excellent product by Gamblin, a non-toxic gel is the main binder I use.
When you ask about the meaning of the materials, as you mentioned, the colors I use do relate to Italy, its landscape and its stone and cement architecture. Just walking down the street you can notice different textures and mixtures of stone masonry that are like paintings themselves. So, it would be the colors of my surroundings that relate to the significance and selection of materials.
LOL/WOW/SOS: Thank you for sharing your knowledge and preferences pertaining to your materials. We have covered a lot of subjects in this interview. The final two questions that I would like ask you also pertain to your practice. First, I’m curious to know if you think the culture and the geographical location where you live/work/study have any impact on your practice? I know that you have experiences studying and living in different countries. Is there one place/culture that you would consider your artistic home more than the others? Second, please tell us what your dreams and aspirations are for your art and practice as an artist. Do you have any projects/exhibitions/research planned for the future?
Mary Crenshaw: Answering your first question, most definitely the culture where I live, its landscape, and cityscape have influenced my practice. Italy is where I am definitely at home artistically, even though my messy, expressionistic style is not understood. Attention to craft and design is valued here, which was what pushed me to go elsewhere – most recently London – where all different kinds of painting are appreciated. Making London-based artist friends has given me a peer group, something that I lacked here. So currently, I look to London for opportunities. At the ripe age of sixty-four, I still feel like I am just beginning. I am lucky that I can work, and that I still have plenty of ideas. Aspirations are that my work continues to evolve, that it gets exhibited, that there is always a project on the horizon to keep me busy, and that I have lots of artist friends.
Last August I participated in the PassaggiAtina artist residency, curated by Chris Simpson and Jude Cowan Montegue in Atina, Italy. Chris has organized a group show of our residency work at hARTslane gallery in London for January. In March 2020, a solo show of my work is scheduled at the CICA Museum in South Korea. My proposal was to make three hundred postcard-size paintings and to set up a table in the exhibition space with art supplies, live-streaming my hands creating more.
LOL/ WOW/ SOS: I am thrilled to learn about your upcoming projects at hARTslane in London and at CICA Museum in South Korea. It has been a pleasure to converse about your art and practice. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the readers of this page. We are impatient to discover the painterly spaces that your brushes will create next. Wishing you a good day in art and life!
LOL/WOW/SOS: More information about Mary Crenshaw’s art can be found at: