Awareness Post (#6)

For this quarter's awareness post, I'm focusing on Genieve Figgis. I first encountered her work in the Great Women Artists podcast last year, and I'm focusing on it now because I really like the fluidity of her mark and the way that she twists the moods of classic paintings into something more macabre. I've also chosen to focus on her because she works in acrylic like me. Figgis explores the idealization of wealth and luxury in classic paintings. She also distorts imagery traditional to classical portraiture into more ghoulish forms.

Education and notable career accomplishments:

• BFA from Gorey School of Art in Wexford

• MFA from National College of Art and Design in Dublin

• Started off by posting her paintings on Twitter; recognition from artist Richard Prince skyrocketed her to fame

Galleries:

• All the Light We Cannot See (2015, London)

• What we do in the shadows (2017, Brussels)

• Wish you were here (2018, Paris)

• Cliche (2018, New York)

• Floating World (2019, Shanghai)

• Lineup (2019, New York)

• Painting Someone (2020, Shanghai)

• Imaginary Friends (2020, London)

• Un Hiver à Paris (2021, Paris)

• Salon de Peinture (2021, New York)

• August Presentation (2021, Aspen)

• Immortal Reflection (2021, New York)

• The Pursuit of Happiness (2023, Paris)

• Feeling of Light (2023, Brussels)

• Celebrating Picasso Today: Infinite Modernism (2023, London)

• Unearthly Pursuits (2024, Venice)

• Visages (2024, New York)

Genieve Figgis, The Happy Accidents of the Swing (after Fragonard), 2018

I picked this piece because I love the color palette; the minty greens and soft pinks and teals all look so lovely together. I really like the fact that these colors, which look soft and spring-like in the original, become so doll-like and sinister because of the application of the mark. I also love how flowy the mark is, and it really makes the whole piece look alive. The looser nature of the mark also contributes heavily to the atmosphere.

Genieve Figgis, Picnic, 2020

I love the way that the mark in this piece almost becomes patterning. This is especially apparent in the trees in the background. I also really enjoy the way that the mark gets so loose and melty around the edges of the work, and the rendering of the faces is delightfully scary in a way that really contributes to the atmosphere of the piece. Finally, I like the contrast between the bright, springtime colors, which all really scream picnic, and the scary rendering.