She was there in spirit and the energy was electrifying. The only thing that could have made the opening night of our long-awaited mother-daughter show any better, would have been my mother’s real-life presence.
“Suparna is here,” so many people said. Her large, rich canvases, saturated with intense colour, unfolded across the parlour of the historic mansion, Foy House, like tapestries of the collective unconscious. A feast of symbols, shapes, floating batiks, figures and limbs, shadows and archetypes, danced in geometrically harmonious compositions which hint at Suparna’s background in math.
One of my all time favourite paintings, Everlasting, was acquired by award-winning artist, Patrick Lightheart, who said that he “literally gasped” when he saw it. Here it is, in its new home.
Suparna Ghosh, Everlasting
Another classic painting, Not So Still Life Too (below), now belongs to Filomena C. and her family. She commented, “I will take care of it and admire it forever,” which felt like the best thank you, ever!
Suparna Ghosh, Not So Still Life Too
Two of my paintings were in the show, including one of my mother’s favourites, If Only in Spirit. She would have been so happy that someone (Fardosa Loyan) loved and acquired it. Another one of my small paintings, Warli Catwalk, was acquired by a truly special lady, a guest named Ju Ann, who said the painting made her happy, a sentiment that meant more to me, than anything.
Shayona Panth, If Only In Spirit
Shayona Panth, Warli Catwalk
Another mother-daughter team, Holly Briesmaster and Clara Blackwood, displayed their respective works in the Piano Room. I have described Holly’s painted fans as “meditations on colour”, which, in tandem with her daughter Clara’s mystical paintings, invited viewers into a luminous, magical space, full of shimmering light and dancing shadows. As I wrote in an early description of their collaboration, Holly and Clara’s work shown together seems to, “…open a portal to other realms, both spiritual and exploratory, quietly intense”.
Clara Blackwood, Crowned Owl
Holly Briesmaster, Lavender Hills (detail)
Yvonne Lane and her daughter Naomi Lane, exhibited their work together for the first time, to make our trio of mother-daughter duos, complete. Naomi described her latest series as, “…colourful mixed media paintings (that) incorporate image transfer, poured paint, fine acrylic detail painting, carved stencils and collage to offer a contemporary view on architectural heritage.” Yvonne’s textile art complemented Naomi’s paintings not only visually, but in profound and surprising ways. One of Yvonne’s most delightful contributions was a little red outfit – woolen trousers, a jacket, sewn from scratch by Yvonne for three year-old Naomi to wear when their little family emigrated to Canada in 1975. Tiny red, leather shoes completed the outfit and sat on a small wooden table under the matching clothes. Another lovely piece which was acquired by an anonymous patron at the show, was an 11″ x 17″ quilted design, seen below.
Yvonne Lane, Still Life, Red (detail)
Naomi Lane, Heritage Building On Reclaimed Wood
A unifying theme of the show was the element of storytelling. Whether it was literal or metaphorical -or both, each artwork told its own story; every mother and daughter had her individual story, which informed the story of their relationship with each other. The longterm relationships continue to zigzag and overlap: mothers, daughters, all of us as a group, endlessly connected.
By Her Hand was a chapter that came together, with the invaluable help and support of our families and friends, not to mention our exhibition coordinator, David Bateman, a a noteworthy painter and poet himself, and Georgia Lee Wilder, poet and executive director at Foy House.
