Whether or not you believe in the soul or the psyche, everyone has an inner truth that guides their perception of the world around them. Springing from deep within, this inner knowing is also the home of self-discovery. For The Truth Within, an upcoming show at RJD Gallery, six artists explored that deeply personal place and share their findings through paint.
Rachel Moseley, The Party Crashers, oil on wood panel, 20 x 28"
Jhina Alvarado’s painting Ella, depicts a girl in the Garden of Eden. She is embraced by the loveliness of the natural world but much like in the biblical garden, something sinister pervades the scene. “Beauty, to me, does not exist without danger,” says Alvarado. “While the girl in this painting is beautiful and surrounded by beauty, there is the snake to remind her that you can’t ignore the truth within, because danger is always lurking and in wait.”
Aneka Ingold, Tributary, mixed media, 50 x 40"
Yana Movchan also explores the light and dark sides of existence through similar symbolism, while emphasizing our freedom to choose which side we want to be on. Her painting Freedom of Choice shows a lovely maiden enveloped by beauty, save the writhing snake coiling around her. “Sometimes it is difficult to understand and things can be twisted,” she says. “The snake is the dark part of ourselves, which can tempt you. The Lady is clear and strong. My wish is for everyone to stay within the light.”
The woman in Aneka Ingold’s Tributary is a representation of Mother Earth as the source of all life, and the dual nature of mind and body. Although the figure’s body is nurturing humanity, she is also meditating on the complexities of the building blocks of life. “Each human being is like a tributary that starts at birth and flows into a larger river of humanity,” says Ingold. We’re all connected by this shared experience. With this art piece, I hope to support and honor both the physical and emotional roles women play in nurturing our society.”
Jhina Alvarado, Ella, oil and 22k gold leaf on wood panel, 30 x 30"
Haley Hasler tells stories as old as time in her work—about journeys, transformation, growing up and growing old—but in a highly personal and contemporary way. Drawing from—and cleverly subverting—the canon of art history, Hasler's signature is inserting a self-portrait into the faces of her bold heroines. “The experience of looking at the exterior from within is a perspective unique to the self-portrait,” she says. “This has become the subject of my work: the collision between interior and exterior self; the complex nature of the portrayal of such, and the possibilities of exploring narrative and meaning inherent in this process.”
Carrie Pearce, Girl Stuff, oil on panel, 24 x 18"
Girl Stuff by Carrie Pearce is of a young girl dressed in a black frock covered with toys and candy. Of the piece, Pearce says, “Like the classic idiom, ‘to wear your heart on your sleeve,’ the girl is revealing her inner truth." It's also addressing mankind's tendency to try to to fill a sense of inner emptiness with“stuff”. Watercolorist Daniela Werneck will show The Eclosion of the Butterfly which features a languid teenager awash in dappled light. The piece illuminates Werneck’s deep-seated interest in transformation and, like all her paintings, contains references to her Brazilian roots. Werneck got to know the young woman who modeled for the painting and “she talked mainly about uncertainties of life, she was full of dreams and doubts about her future,” says Werneck. “She sent me back to my past, she made me feel again this transition from childhood to adulthood.”
Daniela Werneck, The Ecolosion of a Butterfly, watercolor on aqua board, 12 x 24"
Katie O’Hagan painted Don’t Ask during the pandemic after she jokingly threatened to staple her daughter’s mouth shut, she shares with a laugh. Then she decided she had to try to paint it. “I guess that it ended up being about self-censorship,” says O’Hagan. “The ‘truth’ inside is not always well received, and the consequences for having the wrong ideas can be severe. For better or worse I think more of us hold back from expressing ourselves fully. Of course holding back can be uncomfortable too, hence the staples.”
Yana Movchan, Freedom of Choice, oil on canvas, 16 x 12"
Two teenage girls stare out impassively from behind 3D glasses in Rachel Moseley’s Party Crashers. “The goal of my work is to capture my subject at a reflective moment of insight when intimate conversation allows for an uncorking of long-held and often unexamined experiences,” Moseley writes in her artist statement. Rather than posing a model for the reference photographs she takes, she engages her sitters in conversation and shoots candidly. She continues, “Through this process I hope to capture the moments of truth that happen through storytelling, by being a compassionate listener and giving my subjects the opportunity to examine an experience at arm’s length and in the light of day.” —
Katie O’Hagan, Don’t Ask, oil on linen, 24 x 20"
RJD Gallery 227 N. Main Street • Romeo, MI 48065 • (586) 281-3613 • www.rjdgallery.com
Powered by Froala Editor
