AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS, PRINTS AND DRAWINGS BY JAMES M C NEILL MESPLÉ P R I N T WO R K S G A L L E RY M A R C H 2 7– M AY 2, 2 0 0 9
FA U N A A N D F LO R A
This is my first exhibition in which the human figure is subordinated to the forms of plants and animals. Three events last year coalesced to provide the inspiration for this body of work. While my painting Pigs, Pigcorn, and the Prodigal, from the Evenrud Collection, was exhibited at MOBIA in New York, I received a commission to create a painting of many diverse animals for Elise Paschen’s new book of poems, Bestiary. I was in the process of painting a large canvas for Jeffrey Levine’s poem “The Color of Cardinals,” which was to be exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center. Animals seemed to be coming at me from all directions, so I decided that Fauna and Flora would logically be my next exhibition. My on-going exploration of the world of mythology expanded my knowledge of animal stories from Greco-Roman and Native-American myths. Myths such as Procné and Philomela took on deeper meanings as I sketched and painted more birds and animals. In some paintings, I tried to give the animals a mode or a mood expressed by a myth
or poem. In others, the animals simply became compositional congregations of form and color (e.g., Oboe Flame). The most frequently occurring image of the groupings of animals in the ancient world was the myth of Orpheus taming the wild beasts with his lyre. In Animals in Roman Life and Art, professor Jocelyn Toynbee wrote, “The basic significance of the motif is idyllic, denoting heavenly peace and a Golden Age to come, here or hereafter, in which nature, wild and domestic, is to be completely tamed in mutual friendliness and to be enthralled by the harmony and order that music implies.” Although we can wonder if the world will achieve a harmonious and peaceable existence in the future, Nature herself seems to balance both harmony and dissonance. Or perhaps, in Nature, what might seem dissonant to man is, in fact, a reality so complex as to be unrecognizable as harmony.
JAMES MESPLÉ Chicago, February 2009
Front cover: Siren’s Song, 2008. Ink, watercolor and gouache; 11 × 14 in. Above: detail of Panic. Back cover: detail of Ganymede’s Gift. All works are on paper unless otherwise noted.
DUNE MUSIC/BESTIARY
2008
Oil and egg tempera on panel; 24 × 30 in. Collection of Elise Paschen.
RABBIT, PIG AND PRODIGAL 2009 Etching with drypoint and hand-coloring; edition of 9; 5 × 7 in.
DIANA’S STAG 2008 Ink, sanguine, watercolor and chalk; 14 × 11 in.
PAN’S FISH
2009
Ink and gouache; 20 × 16 in.
FOX BASSOON 2009
OBOE FLAME 2008
Ink, gouache and pastel pencil; 20 × 16 in.
Ink, gouache and charcoal; 20 × 16 in.
BEETLE MUSIC 2008
FLORA EUROPA 2008
Ink, carbon and gouache; 11 × 9 in.
Ink, charcoal and gouache; 10 × 8 in.
TEREUS, PROCNÉ, PHILOMELA 2008
GANYMEDE’S GIFT 2008–09
Ink, sanguine, umber and gouache; 10½ × 9½ in.
Ink, sanguine, watercolor and gouache; 24 × 18 in.
DELPHI-DOLPHIN 2008–09
ORPHEUS TAMES CERBERUS 2008
Watercolor and gouache; 18 × 20½ in.
Ink, charcoal and gouache on board; 14 × 12 in.
PANIC 2008
VENUS BUTTERFLY TRAP 2009
Watercolor, gouache, ink and pastel; 20 × 22 in.
Etching with aquatint and hand-coloring; edition of 9; 5 × 7 in.
SOL AND EQUUS 2009
THE COLOR OF CARDINALS 2009
Ink and gouache; 12 × 20 in.
Etching with aquatint and hand-coloring; edition of 9; 5 × 7 in.
ELIXIR OF LOVE 2008–09 Oil and egg tempera on canvas; 48 × 36 in.
JAMES MCNEILL MESPLÉ
O
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 part-time 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.
N AT H A N H A R PA Z Curator, Koehnline Museum of Art
311 WEST SUPERIOR STREET | CHICAGO, IL 60654 TEL. 312.664.9407 | PRINTWORKSCHICAGO.COM DESIGN: ROBERT SALM ©2009 JAMES M C NEILL MESPLÉ