Hemingway in Paris, encaustic on board, 48 x 72 inches
September 5 – 16, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 6, 7 – 10 p.m.
GALLERY 1313 Cell Gallery
1313 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON, M6K 1L8
T: 416.536.6778
E: director@g1313.org
www.g1313.org
Hours: Wed – Sun 1 – 6 p.m.
Life-size, encaustic portraits of 20th century luminaries who made preminent contributions to literature, cinema and humanitarianism.
“My aptitude for art, particularly portraiture, was recognized at an early age and fostered throughout my schooling. I studied at McGill University graduating with an Art History and English Literature degree and will be graduating from Toronto School of Art in April 2013 with a fine arts diploma. I have devoted seven years’ to fine arts training and education and have seven semesters of encaustic painting courses.
My inspiration for “The Immortals” manifested itself from two interests: drawing portraits and biographies. The show is comprised of life-size, encaustic portraits of 20th century luminaries who made preeminent contributions to literature, cinema and humanitarianism. Each figure is depicted in a peaceful surrounding, in their prime but they are brought together by a common fate – all died tragically. Death is symbolized by painting each figure with closed eyes. My influence stems from Victorian post-mortem photographs which were taken in the 19th century to immortalize the deceased. My goal is to offer a sense of peacefulness and familiar place or image to each person to counteract his or her violent death.
I begin my paintings with a contour drawing and fill in layers of paint until I achieve the desired colours, patterns, and textures. I use encaustic painting, which I first learned in 2001, to embody a timeless, otherworldly quality and stillness to each figure. Encaustic is an Ancient Greek form of painting that is comprised of mixing beeswax, damar crystals (pine sap) and pigment. Each layer of encaustic must be fused together on the surface with a heat gun. The oldest surviving encaustic portraits are the Fayum funeral portraits produced by Greek artists in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD in Greco-Roman Egypt. These portraits of the decreased were commissioned by families and used as memorials. The use of encaustic to create my death portraits is a fitting tribute not only to my Greek ancestors but to each figure immortalizing them in the 21th century.” Anastessia Bettas