Nacre of Pearl New Paintings by Maggie Simonelli
artists reception 6/9 & 6/10 7-9pm
DYPTICH
Maggie Simonelli Heartbeat of Water 2021
Encaustic, 22 kt gold leaf, arctic blue silver leaf, oxidized copper leaf, aluminum leaf and pigments on birch panels 24” x 75” x 1 1/8”
Artists Statement:
Nacre of Pearl encaustic paintings Maggie Simonelli
Opalescence of crushed pearls, warmth of peach orange resonating from coral, pale pinks, translucence of beeswax, pale golds, shimmering silvers, these are the materials of Maggie Simonelli's paintings for the exhibit entitled Nacre of Pearls that speak to the heart through the senses.
Enchanted by themes of nature, love and compassion in the series Pearl within the Pearl Maggie Simonelli embraces the feminine, beauty with highly decorative style with sensuality of touch. The title of the series comes from Rumi quote :
“Whatever pearl you seek, look for the pearl within the pearl!” ― Rumi
Pearls have been symbolic of goddess culture associated with Venus which finds its origins in the Middle East in goddess Astarte. Finding the transcendent within and diving deep into this source to find spiritual essence is part of the journey in this series.
Alchemy of elements are “slow-cooked” on double boiler creating handmade paints of beeswax. Rich, luscious surfaces of soft cream of translucent pearls are layered like as if building the nacre surface of a real pearl. Salmon colored coral and pale glass pinks Interlace inside the feathery pale gold and silver petals that radiate upward on wood panels with Simonelli's signature encaustic “burn-in” technique. Painting with the nacre of real pearls in Nacre of Pearl, the softness of the color has a shell like effect encompasses the viewer in pale coral pearl cloud. Continually layering into wax, Simonelli layers of brushed on crushed pearls , pale pink glass pigments within the pale colored beeswax with iridescence of imbedded metals.
"How could you reach the pearl by only looking at the sea? If you seek the pearl, be a diver.” ― Rumi
Simonelli says :
The pearl is a treasure hidden and a protector for the oyster who creates the pearl within. In irritant arriving with the oyster shell signals the process to cover it with nacre secretions. This protective coating is iridescent and creates the final pearl. For the artist the birth of pearl is symbolic of power of love and goddess Venus that at first may irritate the heart to act and creates beauty and sacred nature within.
Simonelli paintings return to reverence of Nature, embracing the decorative, the liberation of beauty, sacred love and divinity of the feminine as a living nature. Maggie Simonelli painting process is a devotional contemplation, a communication of beauty and nature of the human spirit through the hand.
About Maggie
Simonelli’s artwork has been commissioned for private and corporate lobbies including Kirkland & Ellis LLP and David Rockwell both in NYC and the InterContinental Hotel in Boston. Simonelli has lectured on her art for
the NY Society of Cosmetic Chemists, COLOR 2020 and #BeyondTheBrief 2019 at Peclers Paris, The Artist in the Studio series for 92nd Street Y all in NYC. She has been interviewed for Intelligentsia Journal (2019)
online magazine, COLOR a Virtual Conference for the NY Society of Cosmetic Chemists, NY, on radio From the Artist’s Perspective (2016, WOMR,) and Be Happy Dammit ( 2007, Sirius Radio). Reviews of Simonelli’s
works appear in Provincetown Independent, Provincetown Banner, New York Magazine, Artscope, Easthampton Star, Southampton Press, Journal of Medicinal Health, and Hamptons.com.
Maggie Simonelli lives and works in New York City.