Antonia Munroe
Bio
Antonia Munroe is inspired by the 16th and 17th century Mughal artists who began to record the natural world with a focus on scientific observation. Having studied Indian miniature painting in Rajasthan, Munroe remains faithful to the traditional techniques used by these artists; binding ground pure pigment and using brushes from the underside hair of a squirrel’s tail.
Painted Flower Collages~ a short history
Traditional Indian miniature painting is detailed, contemplative, and shimmering with intense color. For the past decade I have been learning the technique which requires a studious attention. As opposites attract, so the art of collage presents a dimension that contrasts in symbiotic fluidity with the carefully constructed brushwork of Indian miniature painting. The art of layering papers, fabric, and random objects, by nature two dimensional, beckons as an alternative to my intensely observed painted images. While the act of painting is a meditative process involving a gradual building up of the pure hand-ground pigments with tiny squirrel hair brushes, collage is organic, unplanned, and free of the typical restrictions inherent in painting. The challenge of unifying these two seemingly disparate methods presents a thrilling exploration.
The compositions consist of the central flower(s) whose shape is created by cutting and gluing on panel layers of thick handmade Indian paper into forms of petals, stems, leaves. The base layers of paint are then applied, often going through several iterations as the colors are built up. Simultaneously, the collaged backgrounds surrounding the flower are telling .....a story:
Winter is a good time to wander around in my studio where I unearth boxes and baskets holding my conscious yet serendipitous life of finding, collecting, receiving. I find crackling fragments of yellowed notes from dear ones, and postcards of cherished places, now inaccessible or irrevocably altered . A packet of Tiger Balm with its colorful Chinese graphics bought in a kiosk beside a Balinese temple, a handwoven fragment of gold and red silk rescued from the dark corner of a block printing studio in Rajasthan. A pile of carefully cut quilt squares, Early American calicos and paisleys, a farewell gesture from a beloved friend. At last, there is a purpose, along with their sheer beauty, for the silk scraps I had dyed with marigold, madder, indigo. My father’s frayed tie with its medieval design, a 1920’s notebook written in code, a stamp from a trip to Guatemala. Every object acquires a newfound identity, an intense scrutiny laden with memories, as it is positioned this way or that onto the blossoming collage.
The flower serenely holds its place while the story cradles its fragility.
-Antonia Munroe