Baroque-inspired Monoprints
By Jenny Graham
Original artworks
Monoprints on paper or cradled board
In order, as above:
Acis & Galatea I & II
Framed
Mixed media monotypes
Framed size: H: 44cm x W: 44cm (narrow oak frame)
£195 each
Indulgence I & II
Unframed
Acrylic and golf leaf on cradled board
Two at £495 each
Jenny created this set of four individual prints to suit our Summer 2025 show theme, using techniques, colours and symbols associated with the Rococo and Baroque periods and their artistic and cultural movements.
"With the theme of 'Indulgence' I began thinking about the Baroque and Rococo periods of art and decoration. I researched the colours that they used and their love of gold decoration, flourishes and, generally, their 'maximalist' approach to everything, including the music. Hence, the use of certain colours and snippets of this acclaimed opera of the period by Handel. I have found it quite a delight, but also a challenge, to run with this theme and create work without the usual restraints, which is something we suffer from as English people."
Acis & Galatea is Handel's highly-regarded pastoral opera of the period, based on the legend of Galatea whose young lover, Acis, is murdered. Pages from its score are included in the framed monoprints.
The pair of Indulgence panels also respond to the theme of the exhibition. They were made over a period of several weeks, with many layers of paint and gold leaf being applied, each layer being allowed to dry and then sanded back to create a surface rich in its own creative history. They reference not only the Baroque period of elaborate architectural adornment but also the ways in which these decorations age over long periods of time and restoration - and they have tha appearnce of fragments of larger panelled walls or screens.
ABOUT JENNY GRAHAM
Somerset-based Jenny studied both at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City and at the University of the West of England in Bristol where, in 1997, she received an MA in Multi-disciplinary Printmaking.
With her passion for interpreting the visual world, her expertise ranges from painting to printmaking and video. She focuses on environment, memory and history to create pieces that draw the viewer into the scene.
The core of her recent work is inspired by the English countryside and her paintings explore distinctive aspects of each location - those topographical and agricultural details which make it unique.
Working en plein air, in the landscape, she makes sketches and colour, location and climate notes. Back in her studio, she combines this information with her emotional and visual recollection. In recent paintings she uses oil and cold wax to achieve textural variety, building up layers of colour, adding and removing paint, until the final image emerges.
Her work has been exhibited widely in both the UK and abroad. She has had solo and group shows in both England and France, and has shown work in The Discerning Eye, the National Open Art Exhibition, National Original Print Exhibition, the Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition, the Royal Watercolour Society, Wells Art Contemporary and the RWA. Her landscapes have been commissioned and purchased by regional hospitals and other organisations as well as private collectors.
She is a member of the RWA Artists Network, Fingerprint and Somerset Printmakers and a founding member of Somerset Open Studios.