Mystical Shores: Betsy Eby, Olivia Musgrave and Jane Morris Pack    Mar 5 - Apr 3, 2010

From Washington state to the islands of England and Greece, three women artists tell their stories in their work, inspired by Greek and Irish mythology, Asian antiquities and the beauty and poetry of the Greek Isles. Olivia Musgrave, bronze sculpture; Betsy Eby, encaustic and pigment on linen, and Jane Pack, oil on paper, Mystical Shores draws from three distinct international locations delivering a mysterious, ethereal aesthetic and brilliant, subtle wit. All three women draw from the traditions of East and West, and the feminine mystique of sensuality, imagination and mysticism.

Betsy Eby's degree in Greek, Roman and Asian antiquities, and her residence in Tokyo, combine to create her unique aesthetic. She works in encaustic; a painting medium that dates to the 4th Century B.C., a mixed medium consisting of molten beeswax, pigment, and damar varnish. She manipulates the viscosity, and then engages in torching, splattering, dipping and layering her material. The dimension of the wax builds a finished surface that glistens like poured and polished resin. The results are paintings that are uniquely transparent, with lush and active surfaces, which are simultaneously sensual and contemplative. Manipulation of wax achieves atmospheric and ephemeral depth, often sweeping and enveloping rhythmic qualities reminiscent of her classical piano training since the age of 5.

Jane Morris Pack lives on the Greek island of Paros, where she has taught painting for over twenty years at the Aegean Center, founded by her husband, Wilmington born and internationally renowned photographer, John Pack. Her painting is informed by Greek Mythology and the island nature surrounding her, combined with an aesthetic orientation toward the art of Renaissance and Greek vase painting. Pack’s work reduces three-dimensional space to a mere six-inch perspective that has been inspired by Japanese and Chinese screen painting. The effect is elegant but grounded.

Olivia Musgrave, born in Ireland, currently lives and works in London. With an Irish father and Greek mother, her ancestry draws from Greek and Irish mythology to create potent images that translate into her sculpture. She makes wonderfully sensual Amazons, often sitting astride lithe vibrant horses. They capture the wistful religion of Greece but are also the work of an Irishwoman who knows horses. Her work not only draws on the traditional subject matter of antique Greek sculpture, but also on the neo-classical explorations of the 20th century masters, especially Marino Marini, yet the result is uniquely her own.

All three women exhibit internationally from London and Paris to South Africa and the United States.