Janice Mason Steeves - Mudan 
October 13 - 29, 2006

Mudan Series: 6, (Paeonia Delavayi, Bayi Town, Tibet)
36 x 42 inches, 91.4 x 106.7 cm
Oil on Panel

Mudan Series: 2, (Imperial Flower Garden)
24 x 72 inches, 61 x 182.9 cm
Oil on Panel

 Mudan 19 (Emperor's Garden)
30 x 40 inches, 76.2 x 101.6 cm
Oil on Panel

Mudan 27 (near Maerkang)
16 x 20 inches, 40.6 X 50.8 cm
Oil on Panel

Mudan 21 (Paeonia Veitchii near Maerkang)
16 x 20 inches, 40.6 X 50.8 cm
Oil on Panel

Mudan Series: 4, (Peace Peony Garden)
24 x 72 inches, 61.0 x 182.9 cm
Oil on Panel

For any artist, the act of painting is always a voyage of discovery, as well as an act of faith. In the case of Jan Mason Steeves, this notion of a creative quest is quite literally true. Her art has always involved a journey, and flows from a rich personal experience in which travel has often been the catalyst for a new body of work. In the late 90’s the Vessel Series reflected her fascination with the mysterious spiritual and aesthetic qualities of ancient pottery forms, particularly the Mayan funerary urns found in remote caves during a visit to Belize. By 2000, these vessels had assumed the shapes of dugout canoes floating through a subterranean netherworld. The Canoe Series, with its suggestion of ancient rituals clothed in familiar forms, spoke even more clearly about the idea of a spiritual journey. Jan followed with the Peony Series, which explored the evanescent and fragile beauty of flowers handed down from her grandmother’s garden, and then with the Tulip Series, which recorded the joys of a trip to Holland. These paintings of flowers, which unapologetically celebrated the idea of beauty for its own sake, set the stage for the Mudan Series.

Mudan in Chinese means “Tree Peony”, and last May Jan followed the trail of this most fleeting of blooms to its origins in the mountains of China and Tibet. Travelling with several Chinese botanists, peony experts and other interested companions, she viewed and photographed the flower in the wild, growing in its natural surroundings in the remote and spectacular landscape of Tibet. This exhibition is a record of not only that trip, but of a spiritual journey - translated in the artist’s studio into an extraordinary series of paintings. In them, we are overwhelmed by palpable feeling of joy; a sense of mystery; a universe of meaning compressed into the microcosm of a single blossom. Once again, Jan has brought back wonders for us, and taken us on an exhilarating adventure. It’s a great pleasure to celebrate her achievement with this exhibition.

- Ineke Zigrossi, Director

Mudan Series: 17, (Imperial Flower Garden)
42 x 54 inches, 106.7 x 137.2 cm
Oil on Panel

Next

Home