IN THE PRESENCE OF ROSES
New artworks by Charlotte Royle
In the Chiesa Vecchia di San Michele, Crespina, 26 September – 11 October
In the Presence of Roses is an exhibition of new sculptural works by the artist Charlotte Royle.It is conceived and designed to celebrate and coincide with the Festa della Madonna del Rosario which traditionally takes place on October 7th.The exhibition will open in Crespina in the fittingly named Capella della Madonna del Rosario which is the only part of the Chiesa Vecchia di San Michele currently open to the public. Royle’s new works take the custom of prayer beads as their starting point focusing both on the physical qualities (many beads on one thread) and the spiritual qualities (for the purpose of contemplation) of the Rosary.
The word Rosary comes from the latin Rosarium, which means rose garden or garland of roses and with this in mind Royle has created a series of circular and elliptical works using carefully selected natural materials which hold an impression of touch and time within them. They are deliberately soft and blended in colour and tone, but are also strong in their evocation of a slow, natural rhythm; like the movement and moulding of the earth and the sea on the essential materials that she uses : driftwood, rolled seaweed, mediterranean pine roots, wisteria vines, sea-smoothed terracotta and new forms modelled from plant fibre and paper.
Charlotte Royle is a British artist living and working in Lorenzana near Livorno. Her lifelong passion for plants and trees inspired her to create a small sculpted garden in nearby, hidden woodland which provides much of the inspiration and the materials for her artworks. She is both artist and gardener, and it is precisely this fertile dialogue and constructive reciprocity between garden and studio, plant life and artistic creation that constitutes the key to her work.
