“Treasury of Souls” by Mary Jane Ansell
Award-winning British artist Mary Jane Ansell makes her L.A. debut at The Corey Helford Gallery downtown next Saturday, June 10th. Entitled “Of Dreams, Birds and Bones,” the exhibit consists of all new works in Ansell’s signature style – the blending of classical oil portraits with modern or fanciful/dreamlike imagery. Because she works with the same small group of models, the “recurring characters” add an extra dimension to her paintings. Ansell’s art has been featured on many magazine covers, as well as the covers of several recent novels, such as “The Gilly Salt Sisters” by Tiffany Baker. She also has the distinction of being a favorite artist of Adam Ant, who used her work for the cover of his 2013 album, Adam Ant is The Blueblack Hussar In Marrying The Gunner’s Daughter.
“Liberty Sleeping”
Because I have loved the counting crows/magpies rhyme ever since I read “The Secret of the Seven Crows” by Wylly Folk St. John as a kid, I was delighted to see it referenced in Ansell’s description of her new collection: “The genesis of ideas often takes place in the shadowy in between of sleep and wakefulness. Images emerge alongside a long forgotten refrain from a childhood rhyme, ‘one for sorrow, two for joy…’ waking more, the radio tunes to another news flash…reports of momentous and confusing times, thoughts grasped then lost as opposing forces pull back the tides…‘three for a girl, four for a boy’ work begins and life has other plans, they feed in, inevitably, ‘five for silver, six for gold’ the paintings become respite and a place of healing ‘seven for a secret never to be told.’ The months etched in oils, they reveal their own language and transcend it.”
“Aurelia’s Relic”
The show is also dedicated to Ansell’s mother, who died in 2016. It runs June 10th through July 8th, with the opening night reception scheduled 7-11pm.
Corey Helford Gallery
571 S Anderson St
(Enter on Willow St)
(310) 287-2340
Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-6pm
Images courtesy of Reckoning PR
