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Looking In: An exhibition of works by Mafalda von Hessen

Past exhibition
24 April - 25 May 2024
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  • Overview
  • Selected Works
  • Installation Views
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Images
Overview
Mafalda von Hessen, Rusty Garden Chair, 2021
Mafalda von Hessen, Rusty Garden Chair, 2021
"I am delighted and very proud to be the first to exhibit the unique works of Mafalda von Hessen, here in London. Each painting is exemplary of both her personal charm and the vibrancy of her surroundings in Rome, where she lives and works."
- Jennifer Guerrini Maraldi

JGM Gallery presents Looking In, a London debut exhibition of works by Mafalda von Hessen.

 

What unifies von Hessen’s works is the overarching theme of ‘the great indoors.’ Despite the ostensible simplicity of the subject matter, her depictions of familiar realities encourage the audience to pause and contemplate the poetics of the everyday. The practice of reimagining an interior space establishes a series of dichotomies: the fragment and the whole, the ephemeral and the permanent, the mundane and the new, introspection and active curiosity.

 

Having undertaken a Masters in costume and set design at New York University, worked for the costume house Tirelli, and founder of her own fashion brand, it is perhaps unsurprising that von Hessen possesses an avid fascination with the materiality of objects. Looking at her works is as though peering through a viewfinder into a snapshot of our interior lives. Objects are intricately decorated, surfaces adorned, and warm, vibrant hues suggest a convivial atmosphere. By capturing the exaggerated sensations of interior surfaces and textures, such as the intricacy of a textile or the complexity of light as it hits an object, von Hessen’s depictions transcend the banal, even lending her work a heightened sense of drama. Her figurative style permits an element of compositional freedom; furnishings are depicted as larger-than-life and objects of intrigue are transposed into unfamiliar environments. As such, von Hessen creates a sense of the expanse of the indoors, which is seemingly at odds with the intimacy of her chosen subject matter.

 

‘Lived in’ scenes, which would ordinarily serve as bustling social spaces, are instead devoid of an explicit human presence. Yet, visual signifiers such as coats hanging on a mirror, food on a tabletop, or an indent in a chair, hint at recent activity and situate an interpretation of von Hessen’s work, not only within the poetics of space, but time. We are encouraged to ask the question: what is about to happen, or what has happened? It is this buzz of life, gesturing towards history and anticipating the future, which von Hessen refers to as the ‘soul’ of an object. As a result, material components become characters in her narrative, further animating the space and subsequently encouraging introspection from the viewer. A tension between the physical and psychological acts of ‘looking inwards’ is exemplified in Doves With Franz West. The presence of a beloved pet, notepad and key, aid in conveying a space which is clearly personal to the artist. The spatial incoherencies, however, caused by the impossibility of the mirror and its unmatched reflection, introduce a multiplicity of gazes. We, the viewers, are invited in.

 

Jennifer Guerrini Maraldi (Director of JGM Gallery) says that “I am delighted and very proud to be the first to exhibit the unique works of Mafalda von Hessen, here in London. Each painting is exemplary of both her personal charm and the vibrancy of her surroundings in Rome, where she lives and works.”

 

The Opening Reception will be held on Wednesday, 24 April, 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

 

For further information, press enquiries, or to RSVP, please contact the gallery at info@jgmgallery.com.

 

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Selected Works
  • Mafalda von Hessen Rusty Garden Chair, 2021 Oil on canvas 100cm x 83cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Rusty Garden Chair, 2021
    Oil on canvas
    100cm x 83cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen White Chairs & Packing Paper, 2022 Oil on canvas 166cm x 126cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    White Chairs & Packing Paper, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    166cm x 126cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Poli's Favourite, 2021 Oil on canvas 106cm x 79cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Poli's Favourite, 2021
    Oil on canvas
    106cm x 79cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Green Coats, 2022 Oil on canvas 166cm x 126cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Green Coats, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    166cm x 126cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Doves With Franz West, 2022 Mixed media on paper 166cm x 126cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Doves With Franz West, 2022
    Mixed media on paper
    166cm x 126cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Armchair Berleburg, 2024 Oil on canvas 112cm x 84cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Armchair Berleburg, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    112cm x 84cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Chesa Planta 2 Ardez, 2024 Oil on canvas 73cm x 63cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Chesa Planta 2 Ardez, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    73cm x 63cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Rolf's Studio, 2024 Oil on canvas 36cm x 22.5cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Rolf's Studio, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    36cm x 22.5cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen Peter’s shoe, 2023-24 Oil on canvas 166cm x 126cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    Peter’s shoe, 2023-24
    Oil on canvas
    166cm x 126cm
  • Mafalda von Hessen After Dinner, Living Room, Villa Polissena, 2023 Oil on canvas 166cm x 378cm
    Mafalda von Hessen
    After Dinner, Living Room, Villa Polissena, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    166cm x 378cm
Installation Views
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  • Installation Views011
Press
  • Tatler - Bystander

    Coverage of the Opening Reception of 'Looking In' by Mafalda von Hessen
    June 3, 2024
    This link opens in a new tab.
  • World Of Interiors

    Session Artist: Mafalda von Hessen returns to the easel for 'Looking In' at JGM Gallery
    Sean O’Toole, May 16, 2024
  • Financial Times

    At home with Rolf Sachs and Mafalda von Hessen – the painter-princess and the polymath. Featuring von Hessens debut London exhibition 'Looking In' at JGM Gallery
    Victoria Woodcock, May 7, 2024
  • Zoe Magazine

    'Looking In' featured in Lifestyle : Top Stories
    April 15, 2024

Related artist

  • Mafalda von Hessen

    Mafalda von Hessen

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