LUCINDA MUDGE | Heart and Soul

Everard Read Franschhoek is delighted to present a new solo exhibition by Lucinda Mudge.

 

 

 

The practices and disciplines of painting on canvas and those of making large ceramic vessels are so very different (indeed, almost diametrically opposed to each other) that to find an artist who does both is extraordinarily uncommon. To find an artist whose work is technically assured, intelligent, and quite beautiful in both fields is, in my experience, unique. Lucinda Mudge is one of our finest, most idiosyncratic, and witty artists whose lush and lovely works almost disguise a sharp and edgy view of the world. -  Trent Read, 2025

 

"This exhibition has been developed over the course of a full year - a year with very few interruptions, a rare occurrence for me. This granted me time to reflect and to truly develop my work.

Time itself is a central theme in this body of work, particularly evident in this collection of paintings. I have savoured the slowness of the process, the gradual building of each piece, and the reflection it allows.

As an artist who uses humour and narrative in my work, I have playfully reflected on the history of humanity and the concept of timelessness, a recurring theme in my work. 

My vases reference humanity's creative journey - the ceramic vase being one of the oldest forms of human expression. 

Through these pieces, and in my intentionally irreverent style, I explore the human condition: our circular patterns, our repeated histories, and the interplay between micro and macro worlds. The concept of circularity is echoed in my landscape paintings, where scale and perspective playfully shift. The concept of eternity is shown as both the circle and stillness of repetitive pattern making - repetition, symmetry, and silence, the circular motif, the black void, the endless return.

The inherent instinct to create is a recurrent theme in my work. The very human desire to leave a mark, to draw in sand, to communicate thought, resonates throughout history. I have incorporated ancient cave paintings, not only from my local area - which has caves and middens dating back 12000 years ago - but from around the world. The ceramic medium itself is remarkable for its durability; even a simple shard becomes a fragment of time, and so in my paintings I have used shards of pottery to create a curated collection of human history. 

These ideas have all culminated in three ‘bookshelf’ paintings, a nod to this intrinsic human desire to curate and collect. As an artist, and collector, it is a satisfying moment.   

Contradictions are seen throughout my work. Beautiful yet sometimes violent imagery and bright bursts of colour inspired by the vibrancy of nature are juxtaposed with quiet, meditative luminosity. There is calmness and wildness, freedom and constraint.

All things move in circles - creation and decay, silence and sound, light and shadow."

EVERARD READ FRANSCHHOEK - 20 Huguenot Road
Franschhoek, 7690
South Africa
+27 21 876 2446 l fgallery@everard.co.za

Operating hours:
Monday – Sunday 09:30 - 17:00
Please contact fgallery@everard.co.za to make a booking outside of these hours