Alison Gaffyne
Alison Gaffyne is an emerging Franco-British artist. She was born in London in 1964 and her parents raised Alison and her 3 sisters at their family home, on the Isle of Wight, in a very ‘arty, historical’ environment. Alison now lives and has a workshop in Amboise in the Loire Valley,France, a stone’s throw from Leonardo Da Vinci’s last home.
Alison has travelled, lived ( in Spain, France, UK, Dubai ) and studied art abroad. When you step into Alison’s world of vibrant creativity you find joy and warmth in every brushstroke. Difficult for this very passionate artist to choose between her love of Renaissance, Klimt, Arabesque, Indian art , William Morris, Iconic and even textile design… and of course, Impressionism ( having been an assistant to Jeffrey Pratt, well known artist in England.) and all of these influences can be discovered in her different paintings . So…from Alison’s mind, pops out creations with bright vibrant colours, messages of love and harmony (some messages are hidden and can be seen by stepping to one side). This artist is able to pick out beauty and transmit it in pure lines, harmonious colours and happiness..
Alison paints in oil and acrylic on stretched canvas or on wood panels. She has a very personal style and technique, often using layers of paint to create a papyrus background in which she inserts her ‘secret messages’.
She often says, ‘Decoration is to make things pretty, art is food for the soul’
Alison Gaffyne: paintings from the heart.
A critic text by Prof. Dr. Kenneth G Hay
“Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but not as interesting as looking.” [1]
In Latin languages, Art is defined by beauty: Beaux-Arts, Bellas Artes, Belle Arti. In Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic languages, by expertise or knowledge: Fine Art, Kunstwissenschaft. Alison Gaffyne is a Franco-British artist for whom both aspects are intertwined. Her work combines a strong aesthetic sense, inspired by Jügenstijl artist Gustav Klimt, with a delicate decorative aspect reminiscent of the traceries in mediaeval icons, Books of Hours, International Gothic tapestries and frescos, or the patterns of Arabic metalwork. After studying in England, France, Spain, at the University of Salamanca, and in Dubai, Alison has pursued a multi-faceted and multi-lingual career, teaching and working in a French pharmaceutical company, before retraining as a chef in Belgium and France and working in Dubai, London, Paris, Nice, Laycock, and Amboise. She then worked as an hotelier and finally as artist assistant for Jeffrey Pratt, UK.
This variety and flexibility of thinking and knowing has undoubtedly nourished her art practice, but it is the act of looking that interests an artist and her public.
In works such as “The Kiss“, the finely detailed brushwork explores the delicate softness of feathers, which, as they sweep round the intertwined birds, transform into airy foliage. The background of gold leaf derives from her training in oriental metal paintwork during her time in Dubai, but is also reminiscent of mediaeval icons. The composition is vertical and hieratic and the symbolism of the intertwined necks forming a heart reflects the gentle romanticism that accompanies the kiss that was its inspiration.
Alison has described her wish that her art should convey her enthusiasm for seeing and feeling, especially the small things which are often overlooked, adding a positive message of kindness, understanding and patience to those who take the time to look and ponder the intricate detail of her paintings. It is a message that finds an echo in the sentiment of Abbasid poetry:
One of the ancient kings of Yemen built a twenty-storied palace whose final ceiling was made of alabaster so that he could lie and watch the birds flying overhead.
The intellect can achieve wonders, but looking fills the spirit.
“The heart, moved by love, wants to fly/ My chest holds an outburst of wings.” [2]
It is an important message in troubled, or indeed in any times.
Kenneth G. Hay [3]
[1] (Goethe – motto of the Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Salamanca)
[2] “Birds through a ceiling of Alabaster” Arab poetry of the Abbasid period, translated by G.B.H.Wightman and A.Y.al-Udhari, Penguin, Harmondsworth1975.
[3] Prof. Dr. Kenneth G Hay, BA, MA, Ph.d., FRSA, is an artist and writer, Professor Emeritus of Contemporary Art at the University of Leeds and Visiting Professor of Aesthetics at Masaryk University, CZ
- 09/10/2024