Critical Analysis: Artist Henrietta Paine by Timothy Warrington

CHIANCIANO ART MUSEUM

Critical Analysis Artist: Henrietta Paine Art Critic: Timothy Warrington

ECAC

European Confederation of Art Critics

Critical Analysis Artist: Henrietta Paine Art Critic: Timothy Warrington

The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art. There are approximately a thousand works on display.

Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt.

The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504

Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture

ECAC

European Confederation of Art Critics

The Critic Timothy Warrington was born in Birmingham in 1944 and is a critical writer and curator based in London.

Warrington’s career has taken him all around the world in the search for art to exhibit in London. He was part of the organisation that hosted the largest and most important exposition of Bulgarian art ever curated outside Bulgaria, showing 300 artists. The exhibition was hosted in collaboration with the Bulgarian Embassy in London and was inaugurated by the Bulgarian Ambassador Mr Stancoff.

The Slovenian Printmakers Exhibition was another reminder of the wonderful talent that Timothy brought to London, artists that are recognised and respected all around the world. “Italian Views” at the Lord Leighton Museum, curated by Timothy, was also a great success and a spotlight into contemporary Italian Art from institutions such as the Academy of Fine Art in Florence, Academy of Fiorino in Florence and The Academy of Fine Art in Rome.

Warrington has curated numerous books and writes opinions and exhibition critiques in the UK and the USA. Notably, he was responsible for the main publication related to Brian Willsher’s Bronzes, an artist who taught at the Tate and was praised by Sir Henry Moore as an artistic genius.

Timothy’s critical writing is very sophisticated - he has the power to translate the artist’s thoughts to the viewer with extreme clarity and competence.

He was a member of the jury of Chianciano International Art Award alongside people like Gerard Bruneau who started his career wih Andy Warhol.

Everything Is Nothing Is Everything by Henrietta Paine

The Artist Henrietta Paine is a prodigious artistic talent based in Devon. Interest in her work has rapidly grown both nationally and internationally since her paintings have been exhibited all around the United Kingdom.

Born in Bath, November 1967 but lived in Inverness until the age of 4 when the family moved to Bristol and Paine can clearly recollect her feelings of loss for the rugged, natural landscapes of the north. However, annual return visits preserved and nurtured her passion for wild terrain and nature, which in turn imbued her with an artistic energy. Given this hunger for creativity and an academic interest that stemmed from such a young age, Paine commenced her studies at Glasgow School of Art and subsequently continued at the University of West England. The artistic education she received from her studies and excellent teachers allowed her to develop into a very original artist currently known and appreciated all around the UK. International magazines such as Tatler and Vogue have also published Paine’s work, contributing to her success, so much so that her next feature will be in The World of Interiors, February ‘15.

From her early works in Scotland and Dartmoor, it is easy to understand how nature plays a fundamental role in her creative process. Paine’s art reflects a great respect for the natural world, recognised as the element that acts as constant inspiration for her.

In her delicate and articulated artworks we find the freedom of youth and the confidence of a mature artist whose paintings create a distinct effect on the viewer. Paine has the wonderful ability to capture the strength and majesty of nature and the ephemeral character of objects in her still-lifes.

Even at the very early stages of her art education, Paine’s works were immediately requested and, over the past twenty years, her art has been selected for prestigious exhibitions in galleries such as the Happening Gallery, R. E. Bucheli Fine Art, The Gloss Gallery, Gallery 41 and institutions such as Exeter Castle, The Hope Centre and the Royal West of England Academy - the latter noteworthy for being founded by the likes of William James Müller, whose works are in the British Museum collection, and Francis Danby, who was presented at the Tate. The Academy is also well-known for its exhibitions since 1930 which included works by the French great masters Paul Gauguin and Auguste Rodin. Paine’s exhibition in this revered Academy is a testimony to her talent, vision and excellent artistic execution.

From the peacefulness of her landscapes, the intriguing look of her portraits and the grace of her compositions, Paine never limits herself to the mere technical realisation of a painting. She is dedicated to finding ways to convey her feelings to the audience; a faithful audience of collectors, critics and art lovers who continue to follow her throughout her artistic evolution.

With her fresh and provocative touch, rich with depth and feeling, Paine is an engaging artist and integral part of the contemporary art scene, not only in England but all over the world.

Widecombe-in-the-Moor by Henrietta Paine

The Critique On first viewing Henrietta Paine’s artwork, one is struck by her uncluttered intelligence, acute observational skills and ability to lure the viewer into the composition.

Paine’s artistic vision is eloquently represented by her idea that art is the exploration of “our relationship with ‘things’ ” with the will to see “the material world for what it really is...just energy…” Stemming from Zen Buddhism and Qigong, the subject matter of these works range from our own national ‘mundane’ belongings to items from the Orient, which, while more exotic to us are also commonplace at source. We are reminded by Paine, that the origins of all life and matter are the same. We are one with the universe and one with each other, if not in form, at least in substance. The eclectic manifestation of shape is but a superficial vision of what lies beneath and Paine’s art and philosophy eloquently demonstrate that we are divided and different in only so much as the eye can see. Paine tempts us to wonder, with her beautiful unhindered mind and pure art, whether we are in fact looking hard enough.

Versatility is key for this artist who has the ability to read through the lines and see through the dimensions of what she observes; from peoples’ personalities to their inner sense of being. We see a very intricate artist that conveys her experience and gift of analytical perspective; the use of mundane objects and the clever addition or omission of shadows, the resultant challenge to our consciousness. The isolated feather, the solitary cloud that introduce elements of surreal mystery in their arresting simplicity; and much of the palette, carries the mastery of a great talent. Always expressing her deepest emotions and free from the constraints of society, Paine’s creativity is expressed on numerous conceptual levels: she helps us understand the quiet complexity of nature capturing its perfection and harmony albeit offering a very personal and intimate interpretation of the ever-changing weather, the beauty and brutality of the natural landscape, the eerie stillness of water reflections from Lochs and again, a seething minimalism that reminds us of the majesty of nature and our own insignificant presence in light of such longevity and power.

Paine gracefully follows in the footsteps of the great Still-life artists, who in turn had a message to transmit and demanded the viewer to question and re-evaluate their priorities and preconceptions; from the likes of Frans Snyders and, appropriately, the female old ‘master’ artist, Rachel Ruysch, whose works were contemporary commentaries on life, vanity and death; to more stylistically comparative still-life artists such as Giorgio Morandi, the greatest master of the Natura Morta. Paine shares Morandi’s gift of creating the intrinsic stroke that guides her in the seemingly spontaneous nature of the work that is in fact a complex and mysterious mental construction translated into an indispensable expression of line, colour and thought.

Paine’s ‘At The Curator’ speaks volumes of her exemplary artistry; a composition that allows us to enter into Cezanne’s world, a post-impressionist depiction of a place of encounter and intimacy in which the brushwork used to capture the protagonists may seem familiar but is in fact more innovative than first meets the eye. An older interior stripped to contemporary minimalism, the play of light from the bare window, all setting the scene for a brilliant figurative composition of three men around a table, midconversation, their body language saying much and saying nothing, enticing the viewer to eavesdrop, to be intrigued again, by the mundane but with incredible intensity.

Paine executes her artworks with apparent simplicity; nothing in her work is superfluous. This artist invites and involves the viewer as one questions and indeed experiences a whole gamut of feelings and subliminal stimuli through her creativity and gift of perception. An artist that, if properly analysed, conveys the signs of a great talent.

Timothy Warrington European Confederation of Art Critics

Old Friend by Henrietta Paine

A Cloud by Henrietta Paine

Fields and Woods by Henrietta Paine

Space by Henrietta Paine

Gagliardi Art & Partners www.gagliardi.co.uk