Tableaux Transformations: Oil Paintings & Objets d'Art

From April 18 to May 1 I had a solo exhibition: Tableaux Transformations at the New Century Artists Gallery in Chelsea, NYC. The exhibit consisted of twelve oil paintings, one resin box with painted branches and leaves, and various objets d'art. Below are photographs of each of the four walls in the gallery with a listing of the paintings and objects depicted. All of the artwork will be available for viewing on my website: judyclifford.com by the beginning of May. If the artwork is featured in an earlier blog post it will be noted in parentheses next to the title.

Wall A

The artwork on this wall includes:

Calla Lilies: Dried flowers in resin displayed on a 42" pedestal fronted with fusion glass

Calla Lilies: Oil painting on panel, 37" x 23"

Dark Mannequin: Oil painting on panel, 37" x 23"

Dark Mannequin: Plaster sculpture with oil paint, necklace and fusion glass, displayed

on a 42" pedestal fronted with matching fusion glass

Wall B

The artwork on this wall includes:

Blue Perfume Collection: Oil painting on panel, 31" x 24"

Perfume Collection (Three Bottles): glass bottles with fusion glass and mosaic

displayed on small wooden table

Red Perfume Collection: Oil painting on panel, 24" x 18"

Nasturtium 1: Oil painting on panel, 19" square

Nasturtium 2: Oil painting on panel, 19" square ( Sept. 13, 2009)

Small Mosaic Table with Bouquet: Mosaic and resin on wood

with interior lined with fabric and oil painting under lid

Cat and Mouse: Oil painting on canvas, 37" x 23" (Oct. 3, 2009)

Wall C

The artwork on this wall includes:

Riad: Oil painting, 37" x 23" (April 25, 2010)

Slippers on a Line...: Oil painting on canvas with mosaic frame, 23.5" x 23.5"

Moroccan Slipper in Shadowbox: Slipper with fusion glass, 12" x 8"

Berber Doll in Shadowbox: Doll from Morocco, 8" x 6" (April 25, 2010)

Moroccan Pots: Oil painting on panel, 37" x 23"

Wall D

The artwork on this wall includes:

Branches Duo 1: Oil painting on panel, 37" x 23"

Branches in Resin Box: Natural branches and leaves

with oil paint and resin, 37" x 23"

Branches Duo 2: Oil painting on panel, 37" x 23"

Winter 2009

Tile Pattern from Mosque of Hasan II

While traveling in Morocco you are surrounded by layers of decorative art. It covers the architecture, clothing and literally everything that is manmade. Unlike western art, there is no figurative antecedent to Arabic tradition, it all comes from geometric design and stands in contrast to the stark mountains and deserts that dominate the Moroccan landscape.

Our exploration of Morocco began with the Mosque of Hasan II just outside Casablanca. Statistically, it confounds the mind! It is the largest religious structure in the world after the mosque in Mecca. More than half of it lies over the sea, the prayer hall can accommodate 25,000 worshipers and it took 35,000 craftsmen working around the clock to complete it in 1993. Its minaret is the tallest religious structure in the world and the laser beam it emits reaches 30 km in the direction of Mecca. In person, its ethereal beauty made it one of the highlights of our trip.

In Rabat, north of Casablanca, we explored the Mausoleum of Mohammed V followed by tea in the Oudaya Kasbah, an enclave for artists on a nearby ocean bluff that dazzled our eyes.

Turning east on the road to Fes, we visited Meknes where Daliesque fragments of 17th century monuments stood in burnt sienna counterpoint to the turquoise sea beyond. In the hush of late afternoon we arrived at the ruins of Volubilis, which had been the most southerly outpost of the Roman Empire. We walked along roads rutted by chariot wheels and saw the remains of oil presses, bakeries, aqueducts and patrician homes with their pictorial mosaic floors still intact.

Cactus Garden, Fes Medina, oil painting on panel

In early evening we reached Fes, the cultural heart of Morocco. We were delighted by the view our hotel offered of the medina below and the multiple minarets of the mosques where the call to evening prayers was just beginning. The hotel itself has a long history as it was a palace in the 19th century for the Grand Vizier to the Sultan of Morocco. The old wing, built in the Moorish style, has exquisite facades and rooms full of intricate mosaics while the new wing houses a pool and spa.

The Fes el Bali (Old Fes) is the name given to the maze of the souks (markets) in the medina. With its 9,000 narrow lanes we plunged in and trusted our guide to make sure we found our way out. We saw everything from brightly colored spices, butchered meats, pastel colored nougat candy and pyramids of glistening fruit to multicolored slippers, reels of metallic thread and rugs, rugs, rugs.

Riad Courtyard, oil painting on panel, 37" x 23"

Traveling inland, we ate lunch in Rissani, on the edge of the desert. Our stop in this small Berber town coincided with the visit of King Mohammed VI. The local population hung banners welcoming their beloved young monarch and, just before noontime, a barrage of helicopters overhead heralded his arrival. We stood along the route like excited children and waved and shouted as he was chauffeured past us on his way to prayers. Later, returning along the same route, he waved back to us from the driver’s seat of a black 4x4 looking like a teenager with the white sleeve of his jellaba billowing behind his outstretched hand.

Hotel Courtyard, watercolor on paper, 8" x 6"

Finally we headed out into the desert in our own 4x4 driven at breakneck speed by a handsome young Berber in native attire. With a rooster tail of sand arcing out behind us and Moroccan music playing at a suitably deafening volume we were transported to the world of the Erg Chebbi Dunes. Camels were ready for us when we arrived at our camp and we climbed on and rode out across the Sahara toward the sunset. Later, we gathered around a campfire, listened to native musicians, congratulated ourselves on our riding ability and partook in a feast served in a luxurious tent, similar to those in which we would sleep later.

Riding Camels in the Sahara (author in brown)

The next day, after a drive through the Atlas Mountains, we stayed in Quarzazate, The Moroccan Hollywood. The movies “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Gladiator“ had been filmed nearby.

Berber Doll from Erg Chebbi Dunes

Our final stop, Marrakech, was a surprisingly lush city. Here we explored its souk, larger and more “organized” than the one in Fes. Every night in Place Jemaa al-Fna, a huge square outside the labyrinthian medina, there was a gathering of food vendors, snake charmers, fire eaters, mime artists and musicians who partied until the early morning call to prayers (4 am). Even now, two months after our return, the most indelible memory of Morocco is this haunting call to prayers. Happy New Year to All!