James Mesple--Venus and Iris Catalog by James Mesple

VENUS AND IRIS AN EXHIBITION OF NEW PAINTINGS ON PAPER BY JAMES M C NEILL MESPLÉ PRINT WORKS GALLERY M AY 4 – J U N E 3 0 , 2 0 0 7

VENUS AND IRIS

traveled to Greece some years ago, primarily to see the great classic works in the museum in Athens. These works and myths associated with them have held my interest since childhood. Athens provided me more than I had expected. I became equally fascinated by the numerous collections of Byzantine and Medieval icons. My interest was not in the subject matter, but in the way they were painted and, more important, the way they were presented. The gilded and often jeweled frames isolated the images and created a numinous environment in which the images seemed to breathe and live. I wondered if an ancient icon of Zeus would have been treated similarly. Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love, beauty and art, is better known by her Roman name, Venus. Today Venus calls to mind Venus Williams, the tennis star and frequent commercial uses of the statue of Venus de Milo, as well as references in popular music (most recently in several rap songs). In these instances, Venus, as goddess of love, continues to reappear in contemporary culture. The name Iris is much less familiar to the average person. Although Iris is an “old fashioned” feminine name that has recently gone through something of a renaissance, it is most often today associated with the flower. Of course, we also call the center of the eye, as well as the aperture of a

camera, an iris. But Iris was herself a goddess for the ancients — the goddess of the rainbow, and by extrapolation, the guardian of all hues and colors. Like the rainbow in the Old Testament, Iris often served as herald for messages from the gods. The Iris flower, of course, was named after the rainbow goddess because of the numerous colors of its botanical varieties. This flower was also the source for the French fleur-de-lis (“flower of light”). Venus as the goddess of love and Iris as the goddess of color inspired this series of paintings on paper. I use a variety of media, including colored stones, inks, watercolors, acrylic, oil, silver leaf and gold leaf, as well as silver point, in an effort to capture momentarily a fleeting glimpse of the sphere of Iris. To facilitate this glimpse, the mats and frames were individually prepared for each painting. However, they were excluded from the photos in the catalogue because I want the ensemble to be seen for the first time in the gallery installation. The ancient myths, which ask us to think about human frailty and the problems we have with pride, humility, love and hate, greed, anger, and revenge have remained unsolved throughout the centuries. Perhaps Venus, who promotes love between humans, and Iris, who allows all the different colors to shine forth together, have always provided a symbol of hope and renewal.

JAMES MESPLÉ Chicago, March 2007

Front cover: Garden of Venus, 2007. Ink, watercolor, acrylic, oil and pastel; 30 × 20¾ in. Back cover: Detail of Mars and Venus. All paintings are on paper.

ZE US 2006

BACCHU S 2006

Ink, watercolor, gouache and chalk; 13¼ × 10¾ in.

Ink and gouache; 8 × 5 in.

H I E RARCH Y 2006

GOLDEN FLEECE 200 6

Ink, watercolor, gouache, litho crayon and silverpoint; 8 × 5 in.

Ink, gouache, pastel and gold leaf; 8 × 5 in.

R E FL E CTI ON 2006 Ink, watercolor, gouache, charcoal and silverpoint; 11¾ × 8¾ in.

V ENU S PAINT S IRIS 2007 Ink, watercolor, acrylic, pastel and mica; 30 × 22 in.

HE S I O N E S AVE D BY H E RCUL E S 2006

MOON IRIS 2006 Ink, watercolor, gouache, charcoal, gesso and silverpoint; 8 × 5 in.

Ink, watercolor, gouache and pastel; 8¾ × 11¾ in.

P E R S E P H O N E ’S G ARD E N 2006 Ink, watercolor, acrylic and charcoal; 13¾ × 18 in.

PERSEPHONE DREAMS OF IR I S 2006 Ink, watercolor, gouache, charcoal and chalk; 18½ × 14¼ in.

P RO CRE ATI O N 2006 Ink, gouache and chalk; 10¼ × 13¼ in.

PORTAL 2006 Ink, watercolor, gouache and pastel; 13¾ × 18 in.

V E NUS AN D I RI S 2006 Ink, watercolor and pastel; 10¼ × 8 in.

MARS AND V ENU S 2006 Ink, gouache, gesso and silverpoint; 8 × 5 in.

I R I S L I S TE N S 2007 Ink, watercolor, acrylic and pastel; 9¾ × 7¼ in.

IRIS SPEAKS 2007 Ink, watercolor, acrylic and pastel; 10½ × 8 in.

S E A IRI S (E ROS) 2006 Ink, watercolor, gesso and silverpoint; 8 × 5 in.

APOLLO’S SU NFLOW ERS 2007

S T R E TC H I N G TI ME 2006 Ink, watercolor, litho crayon and charcoal; 11¾ × 8¾ in.

IRIS DANCE 2006 Ink, watercolor, gouache and gold leaf; 9¼ × 5 in.

Ink, watercolor, acrylic and oil; 32 × 22 in.

JAMES MCNEILL MESPLÉ

riginally from the Missouri Ozarks, James Mesplé developed an interest in classical mythology during summers spent with his half-Osage grandfather, who shared with him many Native American tales of nature and animals. The common theme of the battle between good and evil, the “battle of the Cosmos,” inspires many of Mesplé’s paintings. His work captures the spirit of Prometheus who, throughout history, has symbolized unyielding strength that resists oppression, and it reflects man’s quest to obtain spiritual enlightenment and creative freedom.

Mesplé attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, and studied painting for two years with Fred Shane. Through Shane he met Thomas Hart Benton, who introduced him to the “mixed technique”— a painting technique that combines egg tempera and oil paint.

Mesplé moved to Chicago in 1968 and, after graduating with honors from Northeastern Illinois University in December 1970, began teaching art at Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School. While teaching at Parker, he returned to his study of painting under Karl Wirsum at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also became a parttime instructor In the SAIC Studios Program. Over the years, Mesplé has taught egg tempera workshops at Midway Studios, University of Chicago; North Central College; the BASIC Program (advanced studies for art teachers) at SAIC; and to Ed Paschke’s graduate students at Northwestern University. Since 1988, he has worked full-time on his paintings, which have been showcased in numerous exhibitions both locally and nationally. His work also is included in many public and private collections.

NATHAN HARPAZ Curator, Koehnline Museum of Art