Past Exhibition
Harmonia
Jenny Parsons
January 2019
Jenny Parsons’ exhibition of paintings, Harmonia, encourages the viewer to consider the meaning of the word harmony as an assemblage of elements which when put together creates a well-balanced whole. Parsons plays with this concept of harmony not just in her title, themes and subject matter but also in the way she layers symbols and temporal references. The result is her depiction of a kind of utopia in which cultures and generations are reconciled.
Using a light, bright, optimistic palette, Parsons situates her paintings within the small Ontario town of Durham, which serves as a starting point for her flights of fancy. Her animated vintage household items are resonant with cultural implications. The flying teacups, for instance, evoke kitchen tables and firesides the world over, tea having had curative, social and restorative properties for centuries. It is interesting that Parsons evokes this gentle, safe, interior world without ever depicting an actual kitchen; in fact, her snowy landscapes effectively underscore this aesthetic.
These totems of the kitchen, home and hearth, like the presence of tranquil female figures, advocate an archetype of woman as homemaker and peacemaker. This traditional viewpoint is balanced by Parsons’ inclusion of women from different cultures placed within this small Ontario town, a recognition of contemporary phenomena like multiculturalism and rapid social change. Her domestication of wild animals (fox, bear and porcupine) further reinforce these themes of domesticity, hospitality and security.
Lively, playful and warm, surreal and magical, these paintings invite us into a world which is dreamlike and at the same time full of dreams of a kinder, gentler world.