Francine Renaud Visual Arts

Two pigeons, Mughal, North India, c. 1650.

A new exhibition in my small gallery! Fox Spirit. Fox Charm <3 The picture on the poster: Lucija Mrzljak <3 In China and Japan, everybody has heard of the weref...ox. This spirit creature is an inseparable part of their culture, as the fairies are in European culture. Loved and feared, evil and good, seductive and vengeful, loving and protecting, faithful and betraying, spiteful and noble, age a thousand years and more. A shapeshifting spirit-being who has the ability to appear to us as a divinely charming maiden, a finely educated scholar or an ordinary wild fox. It can suck out a human’s life juices, push them to the verge of death and go looking for a new victim. Or become a faithful and good spirit who protects against evil people, offers heavenly joys and is a conversation partner who uplifts your soul. The celestial fox has nine tails and knows the deepest secrets of the world, the secrets hidden in alternation between the male and the female form. In Europe, the werefox is still a relatively unknown phenomenon and mainly belongs to the world of educated people. It must not be confused with our werewolf. Our exhibition tries to reflect how this divine creature is seen, understood and perceived by the people who do not belong to the Oriental space of culture, how a person from the West imagines it. Each artists sees all things of the world differently, but here the difference of cultures also has a role. Maybe the Chinese and the Japanese will look at these pictures with a smile, but we hope it is a positive smile. Hiinas ja Jaapanis pole inimest, kes ei teaks midagi libarebastest. See vaimolend on nende kultuuride lahutamatu osa sama kindlalt, kui haldjad on seda Euroopa kultuuris. Armastatud ja kardetud, kuri ja hea, võrgutav ja kättemaksuhimuline, armastav ja kaitsev, truu ja reeturlik, kiuslik ja õilis, eluaastaid tuhat ja üle selle. Kujumuutev vaimolend, kel võime ilmutada end meile jumalikult hurmava neiu, peenelt haritud õpetlase või tavalise metsarebase näol. Ta võib inimesest elumahlad välja imeda, heita ta surmasuhu ja minna siis uut ohvrit otsima. Võib aga saada ustavaks ja heaks vaimuks, kes kaitseb kurjade inimeste eest, pakub taevalikke rõõme ja kellega vestlus tiivustab vaimu. Taevarebasel on üheksa saba ja talle on kättesaadavad maailma sügavamad saladused, mis peituvad meheliku ja naiseliku alge vaheldumises. Euroopas on libarebane siiski kaunis tundmatu nähtus ja kuulub enam haritud inimeste maailma. Teda ei tohi mingil juhul samastada meie libahundiga. Kuidas seda jumalikku olendit näevad, mõistavad ja tunnetavad inimesed väljaspool idamaist kultuuriruumi, milline tundub ta läänlase pilgu läbi nähtuna, seda püüabki meie näitus kajastada. Iga kunstnik näeb niigi kõiki maailma nähtusi veidi isemoodi, siin aga tuleb mängu ka kultuuride erinevus. Võib-olla vaataksid hiinlased ja jaapanlased neid pilte muigega, aga loodame, et see on heatahtlik muie. В Китае и Японии нет человека, который не слышал бы о волшебных лисах. Эти существа являются неотъемлемой частью восточных культур, как, к примеру, феи в европейской традиции. Их любят и боятся, они могут быть злыми и добрыми, обольстительными и мстительными, преданными и предающими. Волшебные лисы меняют свое обличье, а живут более тысячи лет. Их способность перевоплощаться поистине безгранична: это может быть и милая девушка, и седой ученый, и дикое животное. Лиса может высосать жизненные силы, а может стать добрым духом, который защитит от всех напастей, наполнит жизнь радостью и счастьем. У небесной, верховной лисы девять хвостов, ей доступны самые сокровенные тайны мироздания, скрывающиеся в сочетании мужского и женского начала. В Европе о волшебных лисах знают лишь немногие. Их ни в коем случае нельзя путать с оборотнями. Каким видят это божественное существо люди других культур, каким оно представляется человеку из западного мира именно об этом наша выставка. Каждый художник видит мир по-своему, здесь же на это накладываются различия в культурах. Вполне возможно, что китайцы и японцы улыбнулись бы, увидев представленные в экспозиции работы, но мы надеемся, что улыбка эта была бы благожелательной.

Henri Matisse - The Terrace, Saint-Tropez, 1904. Oil on canvas, 72 x 58 cm. (28 3/8 x 22 13/16 in.). Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA

Tamara de Lempicka Peintre polonaise, mouvement Art déco (1898-1980)

Elizabeth Keith (British artist and writer) 1887 - 1956 Street Scene, Soochow, s.d. woodcut, artist's proof 37.8 x 25.4 cm. (14.88 x 10 in.) signed in pencil; s...igned and inscribed on label verso private collection photo Bonhams Elizabeth Keith was born in Scotland in 1887. She was a self-taught artist making watercolors and drawings. And Elizabeth probably would never have become the artist we know today, if her sister had not married a publisher in Japan. In 1915, at age 28, Elizabeth Keith traveled to Japan where she remained for nine years. When she left England, she had no idea that she would return nine years later. Her sister had married an English publisher living in Tokyo and her trip was planned as a short vacation. Elizabeth was kept by the charm of Japan and the Asian culture and arts. In her first year in Japan, Elizabeth had a small exhibition with caricatures of foreign residents in Tokyo. From a trip to Korea she brought some watercolors back. Watanabe, the Shin Hanga publisher saw these at an exhibition and convinced Elizabeth to transform one into a woodblock print - a view of the East Gate in Seoul. At that time she had never done a woodblock before. Although she did not perform the carving or printing herself, she wanted to have a basic understanding to supervise the process. So for the next two years she learned the Japanese woodblock printmaking technique. Over the years Watanabe published more than hundred woodblock prints by Mrs. Keith. Her first prints were quite successful and she had exhibitions not only in Japan, but in London and New York. In 1924 Elizabeth Keith returned to England. Here she started learning color etchings. Elizabeth was back in Asia and Japan from 1932 to 1933 and again in 1935. In 1936 and 1937 she had exhibitions in the USA. With World War II on the horizon, Elizabeth somehow got mentally caught between East and West. In 1956, the year of her death, she had a solo exhibition in Tokyo with 59 woodblock prints and 8 color etchings. Source: Wikipedia