Josie Jay paintings

Press, 2 September 1986, Page 6

Josie Jay paintings

“Paintings,” recent work by Josie Jay at the Gallery until September 7. Reviewed by Pat Unger. With 40 works painted in oil on board or canvas. Josie Jay strikes a blow for incremental art. Work after work, produced with a "kind of urgency” hoping to "further development and growth" adds up to a lot of pictures. Face upon face upon face, with hardly a breathing space between, stare into the gallery and give little hint of insights gained through such an output A day of reckoning should have replaced stocktaking when this exhibition was hung.

Drawing heavily on tee figurative paintings of Matisse, especially from 1909-44 and on tee brushwork of both Matisse and Cezanne, Jay shows about 20 paintings teat have successful aspects; tee other merely highlight problems in her method of work. Factors teat come into play in conventional studies such as these are colour, design elements, and the brushstroke. Where ail three come together with sensitivity, tee results are pleasing; where any are too marred, tee work falls apart In the majority of works, Jay handles the colour well, in some of tee works the compositions are either good or

adequate, but many works fail because of tee brushstroke. They show poor execution, poor paint quality, monotony or lack of sympathy for tee overall design. In "The Actor,” “Woman Leaning Forward,” "Nude Reclining,” and “Woman Resting" tee paint is tacky' and the brushstrokes insensitive, overworked or messy. In "Woman in White Camisole” tee brushstrokes are animated but they don’t sustain in compositional elements; "Robyn” shows a self-con-scious use of colour opposites and “Woman in a Blue Coat” and “Woman Resting” take roughness past any point of immediacy. “Vicki in a Tie” makes 'good use of minimal colours and “Figure in White” is also a strong work. The works, “Woman' in a White Sweater,” “Victoria in tee Studio,” "Woman on a Bentwood Chair,” “Melissa,” “Woman in a Green Dress” and others have more insight as if tee artist has taken the time to look at aspects of her work. She has responded to their subtle messages whilst still retaining a sense of lively dash. This exhibition impresses as a response to tee urgency of numbers as much as to the works themselves. Preparatory’ exercises, putting an artist into the appropriate frame of mind to do quick and exciting work, doesn’t necessarily mean all tee works have equal value and the quality of an exhibition should rely — in part, on the strength to reject