Autobiography: Paintings by Judith Ferrara

Dear Reader,

My most recent series, Autobiography, is being exhibited this month. Here are the details:

It is exciting because the series I have been working on for two years will be exhibited all at once, in one space (except two that are at Gallery Z in Providence, Rhode Island). I do not have space in my studio or home to see my series hung as a unit.

I wonder what I will learn between now and September 30th …

This month’s journal is my exhibition statement.

This exhibition is dedicated to Catherine Rogers. In May 2009, she conducted a Zentangles workshop in Fitchburg. That day, we learned an exercise in mindful drawing using ink and pencil to create repetitious patterns inside small areas. It was an afternoon that had a profound effect on my art making.

I have written several blogs about the experience and where it has taken me over the past two years. You are invited to read them in the gallery book or click on Judy’s Journals: 2010 - July, August, October; 2011 - February, June.

Two concepts are at work in this exhibit:

• One is generational - On display are eight paintings along the back wall, each of which can be thought of as a parent to one that you will find on either side wall. This relationship can be thought of as autobiographical in nature. The parent painting found its way into the DNA of the new mixed media piece by virtue of its being transferred, using a process called “water-slide transfer.” I also transferred several of my Zentangles into the work, which spawned new ink drawings and in some cases, painting. Each Autobiography developed into the full, finished piece. Each phase seemed as if I were writing chapters in a book. It seems appropriate that the first full exhibition of the Autobiography series is in a library.

• The second concept is self-portrait. - In art, the artist renders a likeness of her/himself that can usually be recognized. In this case, I subscribe to the idea attributed to poet William Carlos Williams that every painting is a self-portrait. In writing, when an author produces a self-portrait in words, it is called an autobiography.

What is there to see in these paintings? Intense joy and complexity. Musical variations on visual themes. Boxes within boxes, lines within lines. Nature and Imagination singing an impromptu duet.