This Saturday afternoon was spent with our current artist Elene Usdin at the gallery discussing her latest series, Femmes D'Interieur, on view until March 27th. There were plenty of inquisitive guests, who were drawn to her work and Elene was more than happy to answer any questions, even in her broken English. During a lull in the action, the Director, Elizabth Barragan was able to steal a moment and discuss some of the more asked questions about this body of work. Here's how it went down:
EB: "When did you start making this body of work?"
EU: “September 2009. I started for my first show that was in Paris in October of 2009."
EB: "Which piece was completed first?"
EU: "Solange d’apres Ingres," but I shot a series of photographs at the same location, a farmhouse in France, that soon became additional artworks - Mathilde, Ines, Olga and Alice."
EB: "Tell us a bit about your process."
EU: “I begin by taking a photograph in a space that I am attracted to. Both the farm house and large apartment in France where owned by people I knew, a few were taken during a holiday in London. I set up the scene using what is around me. The shoes and chairs and furniture were all lying around, I re-arranged them in order to create the scene where I will then put the women. Although, the popular green pumps are my personal shoes. After I have the setting, I went to the library and to look through art history books to find a woman in history that fits into the setting. After I have found the right woman, I make a high resolution scan and use Photoshop to meticulously pull her out of the painting and place her into my RAW image. It's all very fastidious. From the photo collage is where I get the inspiration for the painting. Then I look at my complete collage and direct the same image directly onto the printed photograph. It's a very painstaking process to make it look just right. I never trace, it completely hand drawn from looking at the original. That is also why the painted artworks are one of a kind."
EB: "…and can you talk a bit about your inspiration?"
EU: “My inspiration has ranged from women of the Renaissance, found in works from painters such as Velasquez, Picasso, Balthus, to Egon Shiele. I also work very much by instinct. I think about the role and the “social position” of women throughout time. Everything, from the furniture to the woman’s facial expression and dress has a specific role in their piece.”
EB: "Will you continue with this series, and if so, what is the next step?"
EU: “Yes, I do plan on continuing this series. My next step is painting the woman into the photographs that I have already made in my digital photo collages. First up- Georges d’apres Charpentier."
Elizabeth’s final word…
“I love the pieces where the woman looks truly in scale with her surroundings. It gives me the feeling that the morphed woman is really living like a piece of furniture or decorative element in the surrounding. In particular one of my favorites is Penelope d’apres Ghirlandaio, who's painted lady is morphed onto a fixed chair, staring out the window from her bathroom. In many ways she too is a fixture in this porcelain palace."
