Mute Eloquence of Light: Arctic Works by Janet Read

This body of work began with Janet Read’s 2018 sojourn to the high Arctic and extends themes first initiated during her residencies in Newfoundland and western Ireland. The North Atlantic has long fascinated Read—an oceanic region now under acute threat from the accelerating pace of climate change. The Arctic, reacting faster than any other area on the planet, is rapidly losing permafrost, sea ice, and glaciers, changes unfolding at a speed that outstrips our ability to fully comprehend or remediate them.

Mute Eloquence of Light: Arctic Works includes large abstract paintings on linen, drawing/paintings on Duralar, photographic close-ups of tundra, and small book works. The smaller abstract works respond directly to photographic studies of tundra microflora. Light Opens Over Water is a series of painted and drawn works on Duralar using graphite and oil. The luminous, translucent ground evokes the Arctic’s vast, nebulous distances. Through improvisation and spontaneous mark-making, Read…