The Vielmetter gallery in Los Angeles is currently hosting a solo exhibition of paintings by Celia Paul, artist and author of Self-Portrait and Letters to Gwen John, both published by New York Review Books. Titled Life Painting, the show features Paul’s portraits, landscapes, and floral still-lifes, and will run through early March.
As the gallery description notes, two of the paintings in the exhibition illustrate Paul’s attachment to the late painter Gwen John, the subject of her most recent book with NYRB:
“Portraits in the exhibition also represent key figures that have played a significant role in Paul’s career. Waiting Muse (After Gwen John) and Model both demonstrate the connection that Paul feels toward John, a Welsh artist (1876-1939) whose life paralleled Paul’s. Paul’s recent book Letters to Gwen John (2022) imagines a correspondence between the two artists and intimately records Paul’s reflections on a life devoted to painting. Both paintings render the subject’s body in confident and introspective repose—splayed as a cruciform in Model and gently motion-blurred in Waiting Muse—reflecting the solitary passion of an artist liberated by their creativity.”
To read more about the exhibition and the Vielmetter gallery, click here.