Joanna Mallin-Davies

Art Brokerage: Joanna Mallin-Davies British Artist: Her art work has always been heavily influenced by the strength and integrity of the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux. At college it was purely the image of the horse that was fascinating to her, the ironically wild carrousel horses, bobbing hopelessly, as a metaphor for the human condition. From there she immersed herself in 'The Horse' as it has been represented in art and literature throughout history. Few subjects have had such strong symbolic significance to man, and few images, other than the nude, have been so frequently observed in art. Joanna Mallin-Davies studied artists such as George Stubbs, Eugene Delacroix, Degas, Marc Chagall, Franz Marc, and Marino Marini as well as the portrayal of the horse in the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome and most importantly for me, ancient China and Japan. The colours and dress of modern race horses were a great spur for me too, as I lived in the grounds of a race course, where I was surrounded by the most refined evolution of the creature. Alongside this was my development of an idea and feeling of 'Woman'. Simple, sensual curves and inflated weightlessness were very much a feature of the horses I made the manifestation of this second underlying preoccupation with the essence of female form and presence. These ideas and feelings then developed and culminated in the marriage of horse and woman. Living in Hong Kong at the time, the influence of the ancient Chinese and Japanese artifacts, the wood block prints and pillow books, were part of my everyday life. The simplicity of this work, typified what I was trying to communicate. Buddhism and Taoism have influenced my life ever since, their symbolism and teachings inspiring my work. Listings wanted.