Moody and mysterious , the latest exhibition at Traffic Jam Galleries by J VALENZUELA DIDI , VISIONS OF THE DARK NIGHT has just opened. The main series is haunting and dreamlike, with a fascination with water (the pool is important) some strange landscapes with a hedge ( a barrier to part of the mind?) , odd trees and in others an umbrella design .Time floats and yet is still , with a pensive atmosphere . Didi constantly uses water as a theme/subject – it encapsulates escape, wonder, terror and excitement , and time and distance fade away.
The title piece depicts a young woman asleep by the pool. The watery reflection is important. We see a tall protective yet divisive (?) hedge , the curve of a mountain and the starry sky.
A young woman in red is in Nothing has to be True , not only with the hedge but the geometric lines of umbrellas .Shadows and the paving around the pool are important and this time there is just one tree behind the hedge.
In Lost at Sea a young woman in white drifts alone and pensively in a small boat under a starry sky.
Waiting For A Sign is a work set in the daytime , with a large hedge ,where the pool is important and there is a strong vertical effect in the construction of the work , with a woman asleep on the deckhair.
Solitude while apparently simple in design is mysterious with the composition triangular leading the eye to the focal point of the gap in the trees about a third of the way in the background. A solitary , melancholy woman floats pensively in a boat underneath a starry sky and there is great use of reflection .
Grievous Angel continues the pool and water theme but is set in stark daytime and dry brown cracked landscape with a hard metal safety fence and a Joshua tree .
Nightswimming is another haunting , dreamlike work with a woman floating barefoot in a pool .There is an enclosed hedge barrier and a single tree underneath a starry sky.
In Crimson and Clover there is a horizontal accent for the bottom third of the page , with the use of a reflection and a pale pinky/purple turbulent sky ( sunset ? ) as a woman sits musing.
The last four works ,a series called Fragmented Meditation , are quite different , colourful , geometric and abstract with strong pristine lines .They feel multilayered and textured with their striped backgrounds and almost origami like floating shapes .
A most intriguing exhibition
Featured image – J-VALENZUELA-DIDI-Visions-Of-The-Dark-Night-101-x-101cm-acrylic-on-canvas
