Lucy Mackenzie at Nancy Hoffman Gallery

LUCY MACKENZIE

April 6, May 2, 2001

Lucy Mackenzie grew up in the Isles of Scilly, a group of small islands in the Atlantic, off the coast of Cornwall, on St. Mary's, the largest island (three miles across and nine miles around). This magical setting--with its intimacy of scale, clarity of light, abun-dance of treasures to collect at the beach; shells, pebbles, sea-worn pottery and glass, as well as colorful driftwood--profoundly affected the artist and inspired her work.

Red and Yellow Tulip, oil on board,
2 1/2 x 3 inches, 1998

Still Life with Yellow Gourd, oil on board,
3 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches, 1997

In describing the enchantment of this special place, Patrick Heron writes:

'"One has only to spend a few hours on the Isles of Scilly to be virtually brainwashed by a very special kind of physical space and remoteness. One's whole mode of awareness changes dramatically. One's senses seem liberated. All visual perception appears to be more concentrated and, furthermore, quite effortless. One is aware of one's surroundings to an unusual degree, from the sea-washed twig among the wrack cast up at one's feet on the silver-white sand (tiny flecks of mica gleam everywhere in that sand, like minute silver mirrors) to the Day-glo pinks and yellows of the papery petals of the flowers which sprout from the salty turf at the beach's edge. And surely the clarity of the whitest light in Europe plays its part in all this."

Mackenzie works in an intimate scale, creating oil paintings, drawings, assemblages that transcend their true dimension. Tying all of Mackenzie's work together is an underlying motif of peace and timelessness, calm and order. Her paintings, drawings and assemblages are mesmerizing, contemplative objects that draw the viewer into a serene and private world. Her subjects range from still life to portraits to images from nature. To achieve this sense of quiet and timelessness, Mackenzie may spend up to six months working on a painting and several weeks working on her colored pencil drawings. The seeming simplicity of the paintings is deceptive, achieved as the artist says "through the rigorous control of color and form, with many layers of tiny brush strokes."

Two Wooden Bowls, oil on board,
5 x 2 3/4 inches, 1998

Starfish and Shells, oil on board,
2 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches, 1999

Tulip and China Bowl, oil on board,
2 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches, 1997

Mackenzie continues: "a painting may be a pure celebration of something that catches my eye, the poise and fragility of a flower, the pattern on a seashell, the way light falls on plain domestic objects. I like the fact that these sorts of objects have been painted by artists for hundreds even thousands of years." One senses inspiration from the masters. Postcards of some of her favorite artists bedeck the walls of her studio, a work of art unto itself, a "Cornell-like" box of a room filled with treasures collected over the years, books, objects of love, feathers, stones, postcards and the oils she paints with! The eye travels a myriad of journeys as it glances from side to side. Dutch still lifes, Morandi, Vermeer, Cotan, Matisse are among the many artists she looks to and admires as well as the Tudor portrait painters. But like all artists who look to the masters, they are an inspiration to create work of a very personal nature.

Kitchen Shelf, colored pencil on paper, 3 x 9 inches, 1996

Mackenzie's paintings of the last five years delve deeper into two of her signature themes: still lifes and portraits. Her still lifes are of simple distilled objects against a singular color background --sometimes a bright color, marigold yellow, at others a neutral color, beige or black. They have an ambiance of purity with motifs that recur, memories of the artist.

White Teacup, colored pencil on paper,
2 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches, 1997

Two Pink Tulips, colored pencil on paper,
2 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches, 1999

Three Shells, colored pencil on paper,
2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, 1998

Clusters of shells refer to her love of the beach from growing up in the Isles of Scilly; flowers in a vase reveal her love of the English garden and the beauty it yields in its flowering; beloved objects in her house are perfumed with personal history as well as affection for the humble universals we surround ourselves with that constitute a life--an old toy clown of miniature scale stands on two antique boxes, small wooden bowls sit on a shelf, perfect geometric objects, regal in their bearing; a classic white tea cup on a saucer symbolizes a ritual moment.

The ordinary becomes extra-ordinary in Mackenzie's depiction of everyday objects, drawn to perfection, raised to objects of silent contemplation.

Mackenzie's portraits are of people she knows, austere in their being and presentation, not unlike Italian Renaissance portraits or the Tudor heads of kings and queens set against plain monochromatic backgrounds.

Tim, colored pencil on paper,
5 x 3 1/2 inches, 2000

Helen Ward, oil on board,
3 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches, 1998

Sophie Garratt, oil on board,
4 x 3 1/4 inches, 2000

One of her two new portraits is of a woman in her early thirties, Helen Ward, wearing a black hat with brooch. Ms. Ward looks as if she might have inhabited another century, but is, in fact, a friend.

Her second portrait, Sophie Garratt, is of a young girl on the brink of adulthood. Sophie looks out into space with a contemporary mien not quite sure of the future. Her face is set against a classic landscape background.

In addition to her paintings, Mackenzie creates drawings and assemblages.

Grey Boat, Red Boat, assemblage,
14 x 8, 2000

Irish Mermaid, assemblage,
12 x 9 inches

Her box-like assemblages are composed of pieces of weathered wood, shells, beach moss, lichen twigs, stones on which the artist sometimes paints an image, an elephant or a mermaid.

Tree, assemblage,
12 x 10 inches, 2000

Toy Boat, assemblage,
11 x 12 inches, 1997

Each of the assemblages is a magical little world unto itself. With the paintings and drawings, these box-like ensembles complete the artist's poetic vision.

Pottery Fragments, assemblage,
13 x 10 inches, 2000

Cork Floats, assemblage,
12 x 16 inches, 1998

Lucy Mackenzie was born in Sudan, Africa in 1952 and moved to Isles of Scilly, England as a young child. She received a B.A. from Bristol Polytechnic; an M.A. from the Royal College of Art, London where she received the Princess of Wales Scholarship. The artist was awarded a fellowship at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Cheltenham. She was commissioned by Lord Esher, Rector of Royal College of Art, for H.M. The Queen, for a Silver Jubilee gift from the college.

Flowering Succulent, oil on board,
4 1/4 x 3 inches, 1997

Toy Clown, oil on board,
4 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches, 1999

Mackenzie's work has been shown in public venues abroad at the Royal College of Art, 150th Anniversary Painting Exhibition, London; Museo Municipal, Madrid; the Welsh Arts Council Touring Exhibition; and in this country at the Fine Arts Center Galleries, University of Rhode Island, Kingston.

Link to Lucy Mackenzie's Artist page

Read Lucy Mackenzie's Biography