The works of British artist Elizabeth Waggett are highly sought after and have been exhibited internationally at solo shows in NYC, L.A, Abu Dhabi, and Manchester. Waggett has exhibited her drawings and editions around the world, in art fairs in Basel, Miami, New York, London, Hong Kong, Zurich, Brussels, Houston, and Paris. She has also been commissioned for the second time by HRH The Prince of Wales in collaboration of the Prince’s Trust, 50th anniversary.
Samuel Owen Gallery is thrilled to announce an opening reception where you can meet artist Elizabeth Waggett and view her unique works and prints this Friday, July 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at 46 Centre Street, in the heart of downtown Nantucket.
Eminently modern and free-spirited, Elizabeth’s artwork focuses on the confusion of today’s modern society. She challenges the viewer to confront the relationship between humanity’s preconceived notions of value and worth, in our consumable world. The Gold Standard, which has been used for centuries, is a perfect representation of humanity’s obsession with vain and valueless beauty.
Using time honored skills in a contemporary way, Elizabeth brings a modern twist to traditional forms through her work. Her social commentary, seeks to illuminate the arbitrary value we place on useless and culturally devoid items, while simultaneously devaluing those things with innate value. She pokes fun at man’s obsessive quest to obtain more and more while we are living, ignoring the purpose of our lives. From this Elizabeth questions the arbitrary prioritization of Earth’s most precious assets, questioning the relationships, behaviors and patterns of humanity. Many of us remain divorced of direct responsibility for the destruction of our planet’s invaluable resources, often taking the word of the media, politicians, religious leaders and CEOs at face value.
Using the subject of the natural world as her muse and choosing perhaps surprising creatures, Elizabeth exposes the responsibility of the individual in owning the effects of their decisions. Adorning each piece with gold leaf and precious metal, the dichotomy of the monochromatic pallet against the gold is a visual representation of the struggle of the inner self to balance greed and purpose.
She draws inspiration from her international background with her work being dominated by the discordant relationship between true value and worth. Having lived all over the world in some of the most diverse and contrasting cities, she is fascinated by the stark comparison of perceived success, and draws on this international experience to narrate her work.
The monochromatic pallet simplifies the form allowing a deeper exploration of the subject matter. This causes the viewer to focus first on a realistic representation, before a closer inspection reveals the true technique. This fine art technique takes hours of intense concentration before a final gilding of 24 karat gold leaf is applied. True to this fine art tradition, she only uses the highest quality materials, responsibly sourced, such as certified Saunders Waterford archival cotton paper and ethically sourced 24 karat gold.
Samuel Owen Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut that took up summer residence in the historic Seven Seas building on Centre Street, Nantucket Island. The seasonal gallery welcomes patrons old and new in its third consecutive year on island. The gallery is committed to exhibiting the work of emerging to mid-career artists, as well as a variety of strong secondary market works.
