Remembering others, and moving forward

With their holidays, May and June bring us in the U.S. to remember the mothers, grandmothers, soldiers, sailors, flyers, fathers, and grandfathers who have protected us, the enslaved people who helped build this country, and the sexual minorities who’ve suffered for who they are. These holidays draw strong emotions from many of us. 

I’ve had the temerity to paint remembrances of my own father and mother (The Impossibility of Knowing (13) and (14))

and of my childhood home (The Impossibility of Knowing (12)), https://www.jwharrington.com/the-impossibility-of-knowing.

In the Northern Hemisphere, May and June also call forth the beginning of summer daylight and warmth.  Thus, this season leads us to recall our origins, to remember those who’ve passed on, and to look ahead toward the light.

I’ve had the joy of painting an impression of a favorite summer scene (Summer Seascape: Iceberg Point). https://www.jwharrington.com/figurativ-paintings.

Now, at least as much as ever, we need the light!

Now at Gallery 110, Seattle!

I’m really pleased to announce that I’m now a member of Gallery 110, online at Gallery 110.com and physically at 110 Third Avenue S. in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. I’m even more pleased that the Gallery’s June show is a group show that includes four of my paintings. If you’re in or near Seattle, try to get by noon-6PM on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays: 206-624-9336.

Let's try that again...

This joyous image is from exactly a year ago, when I had completed all commitments of my professorial life and officially retired.

What an exciting moment! I faced that milestone with optimism, despite the horrors of COVID-19, murders at the hands of those who protect some and accost others, and daily (no, hourly — remember?) assaults on democratic institutions. I tried to portray that clash of personal and public circumstances by mimicking the colors above in a painting titled Superimposition: Retiring the Purple and Gold.

As planned, I returned to the (virtual) classroom this Spring — a way of “phasing” my retirement. TODAY, that phase is over. Most people I know are successfully vaccinated, and I’ve seen people in person! A few state-sanctioned murderers have been called out. We have at least a temporary reprieve from hourly, widely publicized assaults on political decency. I’m ready to try this retirement status again, in a new context:

Uncovering the Work of Female Renaissance Artists

Think of the artists of the Italian Renaissance — Botticelli, Michelangelo, Tintoretto, Titian, da Vinci — all men. Were any women painting successfully and at a large scale in the naturalistic style that took hold in Italy during 1400-1650?

Yes, even though women were barred from art instruction or learning anatomy. This short NPR article and podcast reveals the work of the organization Advancing Women Artists, and shows some of the work of Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), and the later Violante Ferroni (b. 1720).

Two quotes really struck me. The first, from Linda Falcome, director of Advancing Women Artists:

"Art is a living entity and a piece of art has its life," she says. "You know, it gets hurt. It gets damaged. It needs renewal. It needs to be talked about and paid attention to, et cetera."

And from art restorer Elizabeth Wicks:

"It seems to me to be about the middle of the 19th century when these paintings stop being mentioned in the guidebooks," she says. "Women artists stop being mentioned. And if nobody writes about you, then you fade from history."