Lace part of 'From David Bomberg to Paula Rego: The London Group in Southampton'

Lace is a group of paintings derived from the structure and pattern of three samples of Chantilly Lace. The samples form part of a gift, given to me by a family member, the box of textile samples dates from a collection from 1922. Mullaniff has been re-appraising the structure and history of lace over the last 15 years; this has been in order to inform an ongoing concern with floral imagery and decorative structure that is inherent in pattern and ornament.
For this new project she has used the lace samples to transform the minute detail of the lace structure into large architectural painting format. In this pictorial context the intimate encounter with the lace is made public and the inherent geometric and organic floral motifs are investigated. During the painting process the motifs are repeated in sequence or over layed on the surface. Here composition, rhythm, pattern and tone are explored. The paint mark employed varies from an expressive gestural stroke to a fine line application. The resulting painting surface evokes various aspects of the domestic realm in terms of our encounter with decorative ornament. These works are made in composite parts, each painting has subtle shifts of colour and mark. The media output is comprised of a group of fifteen paintings; two of which will be exhibited with the London Group at the Southampton City Art Gallery. The London Group is comprised of 80 Visual Artists some of which will display artefacts that are individual and particular to their own research.
33 pages, not counting front & back covers
Introductory essays by Tim Craven and Victoria Rance
Curators: Historical section - Victoria Rance & David Redfern