Faces and New Work: Saskia Pintelon | SFG and Paradise Road Galleries
A singular, sensible way to question the world we live in? A way to ask for forgiveness in a painting?
Embroidering to expunge the hurt Inflicted?
Exorcising one’s own fears ?
Can a painting be an ode to love just like a a song or alternatively a path in a quest for dignity?
Is there a reason for everything or is all random?
Saskia Pintelon finds ways to show us her world and her questioning of the world we live in: the world of faits divers; a world of love and violence; intolerance, revenge, of anger and atonement; a world where everything is for sale - even love; a world of frustration and acceptance synthesized in beauty. Summarized in a new series of paintings where the hurt in love is chaos and the apology an exercise of a middle school home economics embroidery assignment. The cloth speaks of frustration, the circles embroidered act like speech balloons, expressing thoughts with empty balloons to be filled in by the viewer. One feels a newfound freedom in the composition and technique. This series of paintings is the succession of the ‘Getting to the Heart’ series and yet is a new series in itself. Pintelon confronts, provokes and manages to give us questions and answers without judgement. Paintings that leave us with dark and light reminders of the dense multitudes that comprise the modern world and the primitive emotions and actions of man in it. Can we go from shock to relaxation in our quest to open boundaries? Is there an end to it all? Is love the answer? Is death?
Solace it seems, can be found in art, in the art of Saskia Pintelon.
Faces and New York
Saskia Pintelon
26 JANUARY - 26 FEBRUARY 2012
Saskia Pintelon- Pringiers moved to Sri Lanka from Belgium with her husband and family in 1982. Pintelon studied art and thereafter continued teaching the subject at St.. Lucas in Ghent, Belgium. Her career as an artist flourished in Sri Lanka and the subject of her work became increasingly entwined with the rich culture of her new island abode. Throughout the 80s and 90s in addition to exhibiting in Belgium, Italy and France, Saskia held numerous shows at the Oberoi Art Gallery and the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery.
Today Pintelon has developed a collector base in both Europe and Asia. Her largest collection still remains in Sri Lanka and this solo is the first of the artists since 5 years. In this time Pintelon has participated in various group shows and her most recent solo was held at the Yavuz Fine Art Gallery in the emerging Asian art capital, Singapore. This exhibition featured the artist’s series of cotton canvas works titled ‘Getting to the Heart’. The series marked a shift in the artist’s career, not only in terms of medium, but also technique and style. The works are marked with phrases, a signature of the artist who has written on her the majority of her works, but the writing now however is stitched on the canvas in the writing style of Pintelon. The merging colours are a clear inspiration from the artists change of scenery after moving to Mirissa from Colombo, where she now spends most of her time when in the country.
The series being exhibited by Pintelon at Saskia Fernando Gallery is a continuation from these new works. The canvases are larger and consistently minimalist. The exhibition includes 7 large works that will remain on display until 26 February 2012. Paradise Road Galleries will exhibit Pintelon’s previous series of Faces, published in 2007 in her according style ‘Book of Faces’. This will be the first time Pintelon exhibits this complete series of work in Sri Lanka and this is the artist’s ninth exhibition at Paradise Road Galleries.