The opulent, golden paintings of Stephanie Rew harken to an age of Elizabethan extravagance. Working in oil, egg tempura, sanguine pastel and gold leaf, the artist paints figures in costumes inspired by Tudor and Medieval garments, complete with ruffled necks, bodices and brilliant embroidery.
Dance of the Hour, pastel, 22k moon gold and 24k gold leaf, 19½ x 31½"
“My work always has a strong sense of history, and this recent series of paintings is inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement as well as the Tudor court paintings of Holbein,” says Rew. “I have included flora and fauna, and the symbolism that comes with it into my work. The small gold leaf panels incorporate ivy, Jacobean lilies and magnolias, which signify fidelity, purity and eternity. The female portraits are symbolic of strength in the feminine.”
Black Pearls, oil and 24k gold leaf, 15¾ x 23½"
The costumes, while rooted in history, come from Rew’s imagination. “I like to create something slightly more fantastical, and as I cannot sew that well, I find it’s much easier to just paint them,” she says.
Jacobean Lily, egg tempura and gold leaf, 8 x 10"
From July 12 to August 10, Rew will be showing her latest body of work with Haven Gallery in Northport, New York, in an exhibition titled Precious Metal. “Stephanie Rew’s work is a dance of the past and present, a mingling of historical motifs and fashions with contemporary design and sensibilities,” says Erica Berkowitz, director of Haven Gallery. “Through her medium of egg tempera and gold, Rew uses contrasting elements that reconnect us to antiquity, honoring the splendor of the past with the magnificence of an imaginative and inventive mind. An intimate and poignant look at her sitters’ innermost machinations of emotions is evident—timelessly and elegantly connecting us to ourselves and kin, now and then.”
Nightingales and Magnolias, oil and 24k gold leaf, 8 x 10"
Rew has been working with gold leaf for several years now and quickly found herself engrossed in learning the many ways one can handle and manipulate gold leaf in art. “I work mainly in the traditional way, making my own gesso with rabbit skin glue, and achieving different effects by polishing, engraving, punching and burnishing the precious metal surface,” says the artist. “This slow, methodical process appeals to the ‘maker’ side of my personality, and when I am gilding, it gives me a lot of time to think about what the ‘painter’ side of me will do next.” —
Haven Gallery 50 Main Street • Northport, NY 11768 • (631) 757-0500 • www.havengallery.com
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