Eithne Jordan is one of Ireland’s pre-eminent painters. Since the 1980s, Jordan’s work has evolved from early emotionally-charged, expressionist paintings, very much about her inner life, to work that looks at the world outside of herself, with a focus on still life, domestic interiors, landscape and urban environments. In recent years, the artist has turned her artistic gaze to the interiors of public and private spaces, such as museums and institutional buildings, which she has visited on her travels in Ireland, France and the United States. The interiors of the majestic Hôtel de Ville in Toulouse, the Musée Fabre, Montpellier, the Musée Jacquemart André, Paris and further afield, the Philadelphia Museum and Pennsylvania Museum of Art, feature in this body of work. In Ireland, buildings such as Newbridge House, the National Gallery and the Anatomy Room at the Royal College of Surgeons have captured her attention.
For these current solo exhibitions at the Crawford Gallery, Cork and the Highlanes, Drogheda, Jordan presents a new body of paintings that date from 2020 to 2022. In both exhibitions, Jordan explores the way paintings, sculptures and artefacts are displayed in museums and institutions, in particular eighteenth- and nineteenth- century edifices. Many of these buildings, previously or currently, serve the causes of science, aristocracy, government and culture. The artist is drawn to the juxtaposition of sumptuous and pompous interiors, with the functionality of their use in contemporary life, and the overall impression created by the ensemble of décor. As Jordan notes, ‘What interests me is the display of these artworks in an interior setting with all that goes with it- the rich colours on the walls, the gilt frames of the paintings, the ropes preventing us entering, the plinths, and the lighting. It is really a staging of an inanimate performance – a mise en scène.’
Jordan begins her creative process by taking photographs, where certain compositional decisions are made, and then examined at length in her studio. This is followed by an extensive editing process to identify what has piqued her interest in terms of space, light, colour, perspective and subject. The prerequisite is that the space must speak to the artist on an emotional level, and inevitably certain places attract her more than others. Thus she describes her paintings as ‘emotional landscapes’. Although she also works in gouache, working in oil on canvas or board allows the artist to work more slowly and contemplatively.
Jordan creates a theatrical tableau within her paintings but it is one in which the figure is absent or merely implied. Instead, her interest is in what happens in the space. Many of Jordan’s paintings feature sculpture, which she sees as serving a multitude of purposes in her work, but principally as a way of introducing the human figure into the institutional space. The artist reminds us that there are many layers of historical reference and interpretation distancing us from the real humanity of the figure depicted. The introduction of display elements into the modern museum – rope stanchions, plinths, vitrines, text panels, fire exit signs –imposes interpretations on how the visitor looks at art through a mediated and carefully curated lens. The artist casts herself in the role of the visitor.
The exhibition at the Crawford Gallery takes the form of an intervention in the beautiful sculpture galleries, with twenty small works by Jordan exhibited amongst the original Canova casts. This seems particularly apposite and the artist notes,
‘I like the idea of doing a show in a space where a conversation can happen between my paintings and works from the collection that is on display. Here there are all kinds of echoes and connections with the Canova casts and the sculptures represented in my paintings…’
It is evident that the artist enjoys the challenge of rendering different surfaces, for example, the depiction of a glass surface such as the vitrine encasing the sculpture in the foreground of Museum XVII. Furthermore, this painting indicates how the artist selects her viewpoint to create inter-relationships and cross-references between the different artworks. While the works are identifiable, the artist argues that the details of the artworks are largely irrelevant – these are not ‘copy’ paintings of paintings. It is the formal interconnections, resonances and echoes in their placement in particular settings that is of concern to the artist rather than any documentary aspect.
The result is a series of exquisite paintings of intimacy, emotional resonance and silence, that are reflective too of Jordan’s lifelong preoccupation with light and colour; how shadows fall and how light can be softly diffused or harshly spot-lit. This body of work is very much an examination and meditation on the way objects are presented and perceived. Similarly, the curation of Jordan’s paintings within interesting architectural spaces such as a former church and a classical sculpture gallery is, in itself, an exercise in public presentation and display with reference to their surroundings. Both exhibitions running concurrently provides a unique opportunity for visitors to see the work of this artist in two very different contexts.
Text by Margarita Cappock 2022, originally published in the exhibition booklet
Exhibition curated by Margarita Cappock