I Was Carefree, Green and Golden

I Was Carefree, Green and Golden

I Was Carefree, Green and Golden brings together the work of three women painters from around the globe; Antonia Caicedo Holguín (b. 1997, Colombia), Joana Galego (b. 1994, Portugal), and Stephanie Monteith (b. 1973, Australia). The three artists are linked by a joint interest in and unique approach to the use of color in painting. Each artist culls ideas and images from personal experience, moments of intimacy and memory, and the culture and verdant landscapes of their diverse home countries.
The title is drawn from the Dylan Thomas poem “Fern Hill,” an evocative piece of writing that depicts the pastoral scenes of the Welsh countryside. This exhibition invites you to explore your own history, identity, and the spaces we create & inhabit.
Antonia Caicedo Holguín is deeply influenced by her hometown of Cali, Colombia, from the people who inhabit the city to the vibrant salsa music and dance culture of the region. Caicedo Holguín’s exuberant paintings are charged with a kinetic and soulful energy that pulls us into compelling scenes of song, dance and kinship. “A key component of my practice is the playfulness of writing narratives. The characters I build hold the charm, depth, and presence of literary protagonists.” She works with a variety of materials, including oil paint and unconventional materials like coffee grounds, coffee dyes, natural Latin American pigments, and found objects. Her work focuses on common settings and everyday actions, with a recurring emphasis on human figures. Central themes in the romantic paintings of Joana Galego are memory, moments of gathering, and expressions of connection. Galego combines observational drawing, imagination and drawing from reference photos, often starting from a tender personal experience. “Surprise and mystery are important to me. I look for images that deeply engage the senses, mind, and, for lack of a better word, the spirit.” Galego grew up in Cascais, Portugal, between the Sintra Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, a coastal town whose biodiversity profoundly influenced her imagery and imagination. Galego created a monumental work for this exhibition spanning 10 feet in length, titled Our Mother’s Cloak, a loose reference to Piero della Francesca’s Madonna of Mercy. Our Mother’s Cloak depicts three childlike figures hiding under a cloak. She probes viewers to question the nature of innocence, purity, and care. Stephanie Monteith observes objects, interior spaces, landscapes, people, and animals, and their interactions with one another. She is interested in the wonder and interconnectedness of all life. The paintings in the exhibition are from her Suburban Garden Series, a series depicting her lush garden on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. She completes her radiant canvases en plein air. “In the mornings the sun comes into the garden and creates color spaces which I observe. I see differences in tone, light and atmosphere changing all of the time and I respond with paint.” The artist originally set about making a garden that would be interesting to paint. She selected and arranged native Australian plants chosen for their color and texture, amongst some already established vegetation.
“This is something that is really important in my life. To make images and see images, particularly painting, is something that is very essential to my life and I have to keep doing it.” - Antonia Caicedo Holguín
"Her Heart Sets the Beat", 2024. Acrylic, oil, and pastels on canvas. 67.25 x 66.50 in. $12,000
“I deeply cherish the rare moments in which a painting looks back at me, surprisingly, presenting me with something I don’t quite feel I had much to do with. It simply happened, whether by accident, by my stubbornness of keeping trying, by magic.” - Joana Galego
"Our Mother's Cloak", 2024. Paint, glitter, glue, and soft pastel on canvas. 65 x 124.75 in. $18,000
“I paint things that I can see, but that doesn’t mean it’s a straightforward process. The question is, what do you see?” - Stephanie Monteith
"Front Yard", 2024. Oil on linen. 42 x 36 in. $8,500