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Fritz Janschka, S.A. Commissioned to Paint F.J.¸
2011, acrylic on illustration board, 17 x 14 inches
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"Greenhill announces Fritz Janschka’s Portrait Museum and Self-Portraits by NC Artists on display January 30 – April 2, 2015. This dual exhibition explores contemporary approaches to self-representation in painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation.
Fritz Janschka’s Portrait Museum will contain Janschka’s collection of fifty portrait oil paintings in which he has emulated the styles and techniques of famous artists he has admired during his lifetime of painting. Janschka taught for 36 years at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and was named Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts as well as Fairbank Professor Emeritus of the Humanities. While teaching and creating art, he often created works inspired by literature including numerous drawings relating to the writings of James Joyce, a selection of which toured Europe and the United States in the 1970’s. Like other parts of Janschka’s works which include sculpture, painting, collage and drawing, the works in the exhibition reveal his classical training with Albert Paris Gutersloh at the Academy of Fine Arts in his native Vienna.
Janschka began his homage to the masters and mistresses during his ninth decade. The relationship between artist and model is the prevalent theme in this collection whereby Janschka often interjects himself into paintings. For example, in his painting “Fritz Janschka, as Sofonisba Anguissola, S.A. Commisioned to Paint F.J.”, Janschka is being painted by 16th century artist, Sofonisba Anguissola, one of the most accomplished women artists of her period. In the work, the figure looks out at the viewer as if she has just been disturbed while painting a portrait of Janschka in modern dress, effectively linking the centuries that separate them. According to curator Edie Carpenter, in these works, viewers “overhear a wonderful conversation between artists from different ages in works that as a collection comprise a pictorial equivalent of the process of reimagining and reinvention that itself has a long history.” In a later work in this collection “Self Portrait as a Moonflower” (2012) Janschka paints himself “emerging from a flower at some indeterminate age in the past,” claiming that he has “not always succeeded in ‘mastering the masters,’ I hope they will forgive my lack of skill and continue revealing their secrets to me.”
In a separate portion of The Gallery at Greenhill, Self-Portraits by NC Artists will present works by 33 NC artists who explore self-perception in traditional and conceptual self-portraits. Artists include: Dean Allison, Michael Ananian, Hagit Barkai, Saba Barnard, James Barnhill, Katherine Bernstein, William Bernstein, Deneé Black, Steven M. Cozart, Maia Dery, Alia El-Bermani, Rebecca Fagg, Richard Fennell, Darren Douglas Floyd, Tim Ford, Tony Griffin, Michael Klauke, Elizabeth Matheson, Darlene Mcclinton, Don Morgan, Michael Northuis, Mark Nystrom, Maureen O’Keefe, Eric Olsen, Alla Parsons, Juie Rattley III, Barbara Schreiber, Leah Sobsey, Brad Spencer, Jack Stratton, Richard Stenhouse, Michael Van Hout, and Betty Watson.
In the work of Hagit Barkai, the figure is recognizable, yet portrayed as vulnerable through the use of erasure blurring and ambiguous spatial settings. In striking contrast, Rebecca Fagg’s crystalline realism represents the artists’ quiet interior scenes, using absolute calibrations of color. Respectively, artists Steven M. Cozart and Juie Ratley III use the self-portrait as a platform to pose questions about preconceived stereotypes or to as described by Carpenter “evoke personal narratives which reveal a larger sense of social, political or psychological conflicts.” Mark Nystrom represents the portrait conceptually by incorporating digital technologies in his work “Personal CO2 Emissions” which is composed of 435 balloons whose inflated volume represents the artist’s daily CO2 emissions. In a painting, Saba Barnard represents a QR code which when accessed on a viewer’s phone reveals an elaborately painted portrait.
Associated Programs
Take a Selfie #1512SelfiePortrait
Friday, January 30 – Sunday, April 2, 2014
Starting at the Public Opening, viewers are invited to help mark the 1512 hours the exhibition is up by submitting a selfie through Instagram or Twitter by using hashtag #1512selfieportrait to @greenhillnc. Printed versions of the self-portraits will be on display in Greenhill throughout the exhibition.
Public Opening
Friday, January 30
Greenhill will host an opening reception, where guests can join the artists for the opening of this dual exhibition. Free and open to the public.
Fritz Janschka and Friends
Wednesday, February 18 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Join artist Fritz Janschka and a gathering of very talented friends for an hour interactive music, poetry and performances of all kinds in “homage” to the master. Free and open to the public.
February 26, 2015, 1-4 PM or 6-9 PM
Jaymie Meyer, Director, Youth and Adult Education Programs at Greenhill will be instructing this adult workshop, “Self-Portrait Tapestries.” The workshop is offered at two different times, a “Tea Time” session from 1-4pm and an “After Hours” session from 6-9 pm. After Hours sessions includes wine and light refreshments. Tea Time sessions includes coffee, tea and light refreshments. $45 for members/$50 for non-members. To reserve your space go to: www.greenhillnc.org/adult-workshops.
Greenhill is located at 200 North Davie Street, in the Greensboro Cultural Center. Greenhill promotes the visual arts of North Carolina by engaging a broad community of artists, adults and children through dynamic exhibitions and educational programs while providing a platform for exploration and investment in art. For more information visit www.greenhillnc.org."
- A Press Release
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