Jemisha Maadhavji (b.1996) is a figurative painter whose artworks are informed by bold colour, pattern, and fashion, exploring themes of desire and luxury, whilst questioning how beauty is defined in the 21st century. Maadhavii is not interested in painting famous people; her interest is in those who are unknown to her and to the world.
This is Maadhavji's first institutional exhibition We have presented Maadhavji's paintings within proximity to Hibiscus Flower (1922) by Scottish-born artist William Bruce Ellis Ranken [1881-1941], an oil painting showing a luminous celebration of male beauty and the 'male gaze' It presents us with an unknown bare-chested Indian man dressed in vibrant green trousers, and a resplendent pink and gold speckled scarf cascading over his shoulder, captured against an opulent backdrop. The eye is drawn to the striking red hibiscus flower - a potent symbol of feminine allure and ardour.
Similarly, Maadhavji's paintings present a central Indian male-presenting protagonist, holding flowers and gazing straight at the viewer, seated in formal or playful positions on a chair. Created in oil paint with multiple thin and delicate layers of paint, the intricately detailed and conspicuous contrast of busily-patterned fabrics and textiles jostle and compete, which burst out and grab the viewer's attention amid the flatness of the large areas of flat, pastel backgrounds.
Within the Collections Gallery, the artist continues to play with this joyful battle of perspective and painterly illusion by hand-painting an 18th Century Chinoiserie-inspired yellow mural on the wall. By filling the room with yet more colour and pattern upon which she now hangs her paintings, the eye visually wrestles with each element for attention, yet it is not jarring or comfortable to witness.
In the Long Gallery, Maadhavji has decided to bring the props or 'real world' elements from her paintings out into the room. She places these in front of a painting hung from a curtain rail, provoking the interplay
between the artwork and viewer again. This almost invites us to take a seat and become her new muse, her new celebrity, within this staged studio environment.
Exhibition Curated by Tristram Aver