Julia Felsenthal’s ‘Low Visibility’ exhibition at JDJ presents a series of serene watercolors that evoke moderate seas rather than turbulent ones, inspired by her experience being lost at sea and drawing from Homer’s The Odyssey.
Julia Felsenthal’s “Low Visibility” at JDJ: A Soothing yet Turbulent Exploration of the Seascape
In stark contrast to J.M.W. Turner’s dramatic depiction of a tempest, Julia Felsenthal’s recent exhibition, “Low Visibility,” presents a series of serene watercolors that evoke moderate seas rather than turbulent ones.
Inspiration from the Unknown
Felsenthal’s experience of being lost at sea for four hours on a foggy day off Cape Cod sparked her interest in primal terror – fear and awe of biblical or Homeric proportions. This encounter with uncertainty inspired her to create 24 small to medium watercolors of horizons, separating the sky from the water.
The Odyssey as Muse
Felsenthal drew upon Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer‘s The Odyssey for inspiration, using the names of characters and places to title many of her paintings. The Lotus-Eaters, Scylla and Charybdis each make their appearance in this series, which strips down the seascape to its most essential elements.
Exploring the Horizon
In No Man’s Land (Ithaca) , steady and velvety strokes emit light as if portraying the Ionian Sea. Other paintings sweep across the ensuing millennia, presenting an expanse of water with no land in sight, such as Mercator’s Projection. This piece contrasts precision and uncertainty through its title, which refers to a cartographical method that distorts the size of landmasses.
The Painted Seascape
Felsenthal’s varied facture ranges from Northern Renaissance to fluid modernism, suggesting the expanse of her theme. In Boundless Sea , the paper becomes the boundary between sky and sea, while the sea is rendered with illuminated manuscript-like detail. The paint often takes on a life of its own, as seen in The Acheron , where she portrays the sun with a glowing circle of dried watercolor.
Lashed to the Mast
The largest painting towers over the others, like Gulliver in Lilliput. Entitled Lashed to the Mast , it recalls Odysseus tied to resist the sirens’ song while his crew rows on unbothered. This piece stands apart from the rest of the series, with its jarring Arches paper logo contrasting with the clean sheets of the other paintings.
A Soothing yet Turbulent Exploration
In Lashed to the Mast , Felsenthal subverts the clean precision of taped edges with a final layer of paint, making perfection futile. The fidgety doodles capture the hallucinatory and nervous moments, while her titles exude the calm of a long literary heritage.
“Low Visibility” is on view at JDJ through February 1, offering viewers a chance to experience Felsenthal’s soothing yet turbulent exploration of the seascape in person.
- observer.com | Don’t Miss: Julia Felsenthal’s “Low Visibility” at JDJ
