Commissioned art for a curved wall
Often the briefs of a commissioned original painting will challenge the artist to the edges of their capabilities, sometimes compelling them to forge forward and collaborate with engineers and specialists to produce masterpieces otherwise unrealised.
One such brief passed into the hands of Wyecliffe Galleries on behalf of a private client whose ambition exceeded where many others would not ask the question. The space; a curved wall to accommodate a canvas made to measure, millimetre perfect echoing the stunning sculpted architecture. To be suspended above a spiral staircase bathed in natural light flooding down from the atrium above, dramatic impact with a deftness of touch was required from the artist selected to take on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Enter Faye Nasser-Joley, the renowned equestrian oil painter whose ability to not only understand the anatomy of the creature but translate it into the breathing soul has earned her admirers including HM Queen Elizabeth II. Speaking of her passion for animal life, she has commented that her intention is to “awaken the viewer to the essence and very being of their spirit”. Isolating the subject from its natural wild habitat and replacing it with a soft ethereal background, her portfolio looks for otherwise “un-seeable beauty to emerge.”
Produced with precision, the task of building the specialist canvas was undertaken at Wyecliffe Studios. Ensuring the perfect sculpted angle for the curve, the raw edges of the material were stretched and adhered to ensure the pristine smooth surface the artist required to produce this special commission. Such was the scale of the painting at a huge nine foot tall, the canvas was too substantial for a traditional artists atelier. the warehouse studio at Wyecliffe Galleries is the perfect environment to undertake such ambitious paintings. An artist in her own right, Gallery Manger Josie Fry primed the surface before Nasser-Joley commenced a demanding six-week residency.
Often visiting liveries and equestrian shows, the artist has become a natural expert by observing horses in their many guises from the strength and power in racing, to the buoyant joyful trot of a casual hack in woodland. Drawing freely in dozens of sketchbooks, Nasser-Joley references motions taken directly from life; selecting a powerful symbolic composition of two rare thoroughbred white mares storming towards the viewer in a storm of dusty pink paint. Though knowing that the canvas will be first seen by the private collector upon entering their home at a distance, the artist lavished detail upon every inch of the horses from eyelash to mane, sinew to coat. A delicate dance of pacing backwards and forwards, appraising and amending to complete the commission in the short time frame allocated, Nasser-Joley demonstrated her exceptional talent to perfect perspective on the graceful arc.
Completed with a hand carved solid oak wooden frame finished and delicately hand gilded in silver leaf, transportation and hang required the expertise assured by Wyecliffe Galleries in house installers. Carefully lifted into position, a team of three experts placed the exquisite painting Kazeinto its new permanent home. Named after the Japanese term for the powerful element of air and wind, the elegant painting is visible from three levels within the contemporary mansion. Drawing on the classical roots of 17th Century equestrian art, this enduring genre has at the hands of Faye Nasser-Jolie and the team at Wyecliffe Galleries found an extraordinary new format in the inimitable curve of the wild horses of Kaze.
See our Faye Nasser Joley Collection Here
See more of our interior projects here
