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The Great British Art Tour: joy and heartache of motherhood laid bare on a beach

With public art collections closed we are bringing the art to you, exploring highlights from across the country in partnership with Art UK. Today’s pick: the Royal Academy’s Looking Towards Bexhill by Chantal Joffe

Chantal Joffe and her daughter Esme are sitting on a beach near to her mother’s house in St Leonard’s. The pair huddle together on the exposed and bracing beachfront. Joffe’s pose feels both tender and fiercely protective as her hand creeps around her daughter’s shoulder and clings tightly to it. She gazes out at us unapologetically. Esme, by contrast, seems shy or uncomfortable and looks away.

Joffe painted this work shortly after returning from a trip that she made with her daughter to America. It was a poignant moment for the London-based artist, who anticipated that it may be their last trip of this type together as her daughter was approaching her teenage years. The work is part of a group of paintings exploring the power shifts and co-existent states of joy and heartache of mother/daughter relationships. Joffe often creates portraits of women, particularly those close to her, in which she explores the body, ageing, motherhood and other complex personal relationships.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u2ZST6
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