20 October 2021 (New Orleans, LA) JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY proudly presents Anastasia screamed in vain (painting on loss, longing, and love). In this body of work, Pelias’ grief propels her to reflect on the loss of her brother and create a series that is abstract and inherently narrative at the same time.

This exhibition will be installed for the opening week of Prospect.5 Triennial with an opening reception coinciding with the Arts District of New Orleans’ (ADNO) First Saturday Gallery Openings from 6-8 PM on 6 November. The show will then be dismounted to be exhibited at Art Miami Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach in December. The exhibition will be reinstalled on 4 January 2022 and remain on view through 12 February. The closing reception will take place on 5 February 2022.

The artist says of her work...

On June 25, 2017 my beloved brother took his life. Three months later I saw a Pietà painting at the Benaki Museum in Athens. I fell to my knees and cried for what I think was a long time. I was at once drawn to and horrified by the unspeakably tragic image of a mother holding her lifeless adult son in her arms. My brother’s death and my experience at the Benaki led to me creating this body of work Anastasia screamed in vain (painting on loss, longing and love).

I decided that I had to make my own Pietà paintings, but knew that I couldn’t make them in my studio. There was too much emotion surrounding the subject, and my physical space was too charged with memories. In late 2020 I was an artist in residence at the Joan Mitchell Center – the opportunity to work in a neutral environment allowed me to finally address this difficult subject and to make these two paintings.

As an abstract painter, I struggled with the fact that the paintings, while abstract, were extremely narrative. My paintings have always had an intimate relationship to the body, with their fluidity ,painterly marks and human scale, but I did not expect these two Pietà paintings to have so many figural elements. Though it felt like drastic departure from my abstract work, I realized that it didn’t matter. Painting is painting.

All of the paintings in this body of work are personal reflections on loss, longing and love that I hope will resonate with all viewers, regardless of age, demographics or life experience.

For more information, press or sales inquiries please contact Gallery Director Matthew Weldon Showman at 504.343.6827 or matthew@jonathanferraragallery.com. Please join the conversation with JFG on Facebook (@JonathanFerraraGallery), Twitter (@JFerraraGallery), and Instagram (@JonathanFerraraGallery) via the hashtags: #AnastasiaPelias, #Prospect5, #JonathanFerraraGallery, and #ArtsDistrictNewOrleans.