Ceiling

  • Ceiling 44%22x32%22.jpg
Fan - 4 Expert - 4
$2,500.00

This work on paper is inspired by Pozzo's grand ceiling fresco at Saint Ignatius in Rome. I was fascinated by the gyrating figures on the edges of the architecture and the empty space in the middle for Saint Ignatius' ascent to heaven. This painting was reproduced by Heritage Wine for a special UC Davis alumni wine collection.

Responses (1)

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Joseph Kwiecinski

November 09, 2021

Hey Gina, I believe you have some sophisticated qualities in this panting, and I am not one to usually gravitate towards formally correct works. I am curious to get some more insight into what you think about this piece, as I feel it is quite successful.

This piece, at first glance, reads as a visual chutney of playfully-formed strokes, radiating centrically from the (pleasantly assumed) focal point. The softly toned marks push my eyes outwards, creating weighted depth at a pace that is both nauseating and rewarding; close to a surrealist induced nausea, of which I assume was interpreted from gazing upwards at Andrea Pozzo's grand ceiling fresco (a piece in which I had the pleasure of taking in at Saint Ignatius in Rome).

These loud, hyper-gestural stroked movements, symmetrically layered, appoints the repetition of textures as a sense of tension. Yet, this tension is obtuse, activating immense expressions that wish to burst from the child-esque strokes from heavy to light; expanding out, while simultaneously contracting in. This effect you have created, combined with the thin black line-work, rewards my eyes, tricking the conscious and unconscious parts of my brain to see many "things" in between these liminal spaces. I see a thorax, a few crude humanistic skulls, a child drawn dinosaur, and many unresponsive architectural elements, just to name a few. These elements are successful, as they create visual hierarchies for my eyes and mind to slowly digest. I am not one to suggest, but I would argue that these illusions are worth a deeper look into developing.

Harmoniously abundant, loudly coy, and silently mundane (all positives). Bravo, Gina!

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Gina Werfel
Gina Werfel Creator

July 21, 2022

Dear Joseph, My apologies on the tardy response to your astute observations from last November. I am glad you know the Pozzo ceiling. It is an endlessly rewarding composition for my process. Are you suggesting that I make the "things" that you see more explicit? Thanks again, Gina

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Gina Werfel
Creator
Category
Abstract, Abstract Expressionism
Type
Painting - Framed with Plexi
Materials
Acrylic
Dimensions
32.00 inches wide
44.00 inches tall
0.10 inches deep
Weight
0.50 lbs
Location
Davis, CA, US
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