June 2009, Chantal Joffe @ Cheim & Read

Dr. Dee, a country woman from California, via Mississippi wandered into the opening. She just gallery hopped over from Betty Cuningham Gallery. She had rainbow dreadlocks down to her knees and wore maroon bellbottoms. Her body was extra-terrestrial. Her eyes were sparkling blue and when she smiled, her piercings were outshined by her dimples. She endearingly commented to me that, “Love is the new black.” Meanwhile, in the back room, Anne Berthoud, a collector from Basel explained that the premise of Joffe’s work had to do with Matisse’s collages. 

Upon examining the pricey collages ($7,500 each) such as Backless Dress (19 ¾ x 13 ¾ inches), I took note that Joffe uses Canson paper and clear glue. While she studied with Peter Doig at the Master’s Program of the Royal College of Art, I believe her paintings emanate from collage rather than from his syntactical brushstroke. There, her collages are morphed into a Cubist language where somehow, she takes on less of a martyrdom role. Joffe’s role in the art world entitles her to become the target in between of which are her paintings.  In fact, in order for her to construct her images, Joffe encounters this singular split which is in play between the art world and the fashion world. Peace and order in art may have vanished, existing only in the old schools left behind in pre-art history. No longer do mortal defilements and the cycle from birth to death relate to religious piety. In Joffe’s hands, the two worlds become intertwined.