Notes

Accompanied by the exhibition catalogue, Judith Mason: Rictus Sardonicus: Mouthpieces and other things, Gallery AOP and Judith Mason, 2011.

Judith Mason, born in 1938 in Pretoria, creates works rich in symbolism and mythology. With a career spanning an excess of 45 years, Mason is one of South Africa’s most distinguished artists, working in traditional media: oil painting, pencil drawing, print-making and mixed media. Mason is a technically disciplined artist, her technique, which does not rely on exterior processes, is sometimes mistaken for photographic tromp l’oeil effect.

Judith Mason's work is drawn or painted in reaction to her world: political events, comments that she has read, snippets of history or poetry which have caught her eye, or the experience of particular people or animals which are usually used in a symbolic context.

"I paint in order to make sense of my life, to manipulate various chaotic fragments of information and impulse into some sort of order, through which I can glimpse a hint of meaning... To use inert matter on an inert surface to convey real energy and presence seems to me a magical and privileged way of living out my days."