New Exhibition and New Paintings

Human interaction with the environment is complex. From the needs of hunters and gatherers to the current obsession with recycling and global warming prevention, the land has not only been a stage where we act out our daily roles, but an intimate part of our lives. Jaq enjoys the excitement of travelling around Europe, the Mediterranean and America, where she gathers much of her inspiration from the mountains, the oceans and fields. Returning to London, it is the familiar landmarks that immediately bring a feeling of home. In that same way, we all look to well-known landscapes for comfort and unfamiliar environments for adventure.

Jaq expresses her interest in the interaction of the human mind and our surroundings with her series “Searching for a Skyline.” Instead of focusing on a literal depiction of landscapes she encounters in her travels, she zeros in on the abstract emotions and memories that these places evoke.

The most recent and most abstract work to enter this series,'Secret Weapon' and 'A Walk Down Park Avenue', are displayed in the window of Jiq Jaq Gallery, and the rest of the collection is available to view on the ground floor.

Downstairs, the exhibition veers away from landscapes and focuses on the human side with some figurative pieces from Jaq's Rococo collection. The women in these paintings are daydreaming, looking away from the viewer. They are deep in thought, perhaps longing for loved ones far away. Upstairs hangs a painting of a simple bridge stretching over a body of water, a connection between two lands and possibly the subject of these daydreams. The title of the painting is 'Between Us'. Another is of a sunrise. These illustrate the way land dictates our relationships, nudging us closer or splitting us apart.

'Secret Weapon' and 'A Walk Down Park Avenue' edge toward a brand new collection called “An Ideal Place”. A tiny canvas, 20cm by 20cm, a teaser of this collection, is on display now. There are 15 other canvases already painted waiting to be unveiled in the near future. While the landscapes in “Searching for a Skyline” are vaguely recognisable as mountains or glaciers or oceans, “An Ideal Place” takes the abstraction one step further to give the viewer just a sense of a place. This is achieved through the abstract application of bold and neutral colour and layers of texture.

But the most unique aspect of 'An Ideal Place' is the variation in canvas size. While they clearly represent the same series, the 20cm x 20cm 'A Fragment of a memory' is tiny in comparison to the three 183cm x 137cm canvases that comprise the triptych 'Perfect Moments Do Exist I, II and III'.

Enjoy 'Searching for a Skyline' and 'Rococo' now and look for “An Ideal Place” at Jiq Jaq Gallery at the next change of exhibition (date to be decided). For further information, visit http://www.jiqjaq.com/.
Jaq has also completed three new paintings to continue her "An Ideal Place" series posted in the last entry.

Street Sleep Walking

Confetti Salami

Jumping Over

An Ideal Place

With the turn of colours in the leaves and the freshness of autumn pushing summer into the shadows, there is a sense of renewal in the air. Over the last few months, Jaq has tapped into this refreshment that the change of seasons brings and been very proficient in her work. She has also made some important changes to her image.
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What makes art intriguing to me (and this is obviously different for everyone) is the story behind the work and the details of the artist's life. Take Tracey Emin, for example. I don't particularly like her art for what it is, but because she leads an interesting life and uses titles to expand the meaning of her work, I find her much more interesting than I would otherwise and even wrote one of my term papers on her a few years ago.
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With this in mind, we have taken the past few weeks to think about and change most of the titles of Jaq's paintings and pastels to reflect ideas or concepts and to be a bit more abstract and thought-provoking. Before, her titles pointed out what was obvious about a painting with names like “Blue Table” or “White Nude.” These particular paintings has now been retitled “Spirits Unseen” and “Sensations of Synesthesia,” respectively.
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An argument could be made that these kind of titles distract a viewer from the art itself but, in my opinion, they only add to its appeal.
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In this spirit of renewal, Jaq has also added 14 new ethereal, abstract landscapes to create a new series called An Ideal Place, and has added two new paintings to her collection “Searching for a Skyline,” previously titled “Solano”.
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The following are images of her most recent work, all oil on canvas. Please click over to http://www.jiqjaq.com/ to find an updated site and view the sizes for these paintings and the new titles for her older work. We're always interested to hear your thoughts.
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Secret Weapon

A Walk Down Park Avenue

Still, Close Enough 1

Still, Close Enough 2

Transition in Time

Lost in Translation 1

Lost in Translation 2

Lost in Translation 3

Perfect Moments Do Exist 1

Perfect Moments Do Exist 2

Perfect Moments Do Exist 3

Breathing Underwater

Chaos Theory

Blinking Against an Icy Wind

A Fragment of a Memory

Submerged