The phrase “honey within the rock” has its roots within the Bible, but the artist intends no non secular reference. Somewhat, these phrases resonate with the promise of sudden delight present in essentially the most surprising of locations, like a bee’s nectar hidden deep inside a stone. 

Drawing on the vivid recollections of her youth in California through the Sixties and Seventies, Linhares found a way of function and construction throughout the realm of portray. Hailing from Pasadena, the artist is a product of the colourful counterculture neighborhood that formed the Western coast, empowering her to discover the connection between the mythic and the metaphysical, the acutely aware and the unconscious, the ancestral and the trivial. 

In a state of inventive liberation, improvisation served because the wellspring for the narratives, characters, and kaleidoscopic compositions that pulsate with an electrical depth of color, bursting forth from her canvases. Her inventive apply is imbued with a way of freedom, a celebration of the unbridled spirit that outlined the period she got here to age in. 

Although her inventive roots are in abstraction, Linhares turned to narrative portray, honing her statement abilities to create layered compositions that show talismanic animals, psychedelic vanitas and long-limbed nude girls in a state of exuberant bliss.

“Honey within the Rock” presents a brand new collection of works, which imbue the home setting of the gallery with a heat environment. Whereas depicting on a regular basis objects and human figures in mystical environments, the artist seems much less involved with correct illustration and extra within the act of portray itself and the metaphors it might probably convey. 

As Linhares eloquently states, “for me it’s by no means completely in regards to the factor, determine, tree, bucket and so forth. It’s in regards to the placement, the burden, and the place the factor is in/on the rectangle.” This strategy permits the artist to discover figuration by an summary language, the place the association of components and their relationship to one another takes centre stage. 

The summary nature of Judith Linhares’ work can also be evident in her use of color. Her palette just isn’t restricted by the constraints of realism however somewhat exudes feelings and illuminates eventualities. Linhares views color by way of lighting, evoking the heat of the solar or the coolness of the moon on her topics. In her work, the physique is addressed by scale, and the sunshine is evoked by color, making a viewing expertise that engages the viewer’s senses.

For Linhares, the viewers performs a significant function because the artist seeks to attach her work with the viewer’s shared experiences. The on a regular basis objects she portrays, reminiscent of rugs and printed tablecloths, are gateways to collective recollections infused with the heat of dwelling and familiarity. Her figures are usually not solitary beings however somewhat members of communal scenes, typically depicted gathering round shared actions.

Linhares’ inventive course of invitations the viewer into the second of creation, conveying the tactile sensations of paint because it collides with the canvas. In “Honey within the Rock,” the artist invitations the viewer to partake in a visceral expertise that transcends the boundaries of mere illustration.

at MASSIMODECARLO, London
till June 20, 2023