London got a treat last night in the form of Los Angeles based artist Sylvia Ji’s (interviewed) debut UK solo show entitled “Nectar” at StolenSpace gallery (previewed). AM UK has been a long time fan of Sylvia’s work and were delighted to finally get to see it in person after years of admiring jpegs of her beautiful Catrinas. Sylvia was in town to celebrate the opening along with the StolenSpace crew and Corey Helford Gallery’s UK transplant Richard Scarry.
See all of the opening pictures after the jump…
Sylvia’s body of work produced for the show was a welcome change from her recent “Day of the Dead” themed works, with a return to her using unmasked models as subjects for the paintings.
The painting that dominated the show for us, and most people we talked to as well, is entitled “Mamma Rio. It featured the first black model that Sylvia has used in her works. The beautiful translucency of the paint was perfectly complimented by the heavy gold leafing used for the model’s hair and detailing.
Delicate pencil lines are apparent in the backgrounds of the compositions, hinting at a loose but extremely confident approach Ji takes with her work.
The grain of the wood is used with beautiful effect as part of the compositions, informing and influencing the placement and posture of the women depicted in the paintings.
If you are in London in the next few weeks, we highly recommend that you do yourself a favour and check out the work in person.
