‘Muse: The Exhibition’ @ The Royal Over-Seas League Clubhouse
Muse: The Exhibition looks beyond the gaze and explores the mystery behind the role of the muse throughout art history. Taking an insightful dive into the inspiration behind some of the most famous works of art in the contemporary period, new meanings and accreditations are given to the term ‘muse.’
Featuring works by Sunil Gupta, Kim Leutwyler, Pixy Liao, and Nilupa Yasmin, the exhibition is a visual prequel to art historian, critic, and author Ruth Millington’s latest book, Muse: Uncovering The Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces with illustrations by Dina Razin, to be released on 7 April 2022. Both the exhibition and book work in tandem to offer a new perspective on masterpieces throughout art history by uncovering the muse, rather than the artist, and admiring more than just their beauty.
Ruth Millington, Muse: Uncovering The Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces, 2022. Hardback book, 272 pages, 19.8 x 12.9 cm. Cover and inside illustrations by Dina Razin. Book design by Kishan Rajani. Published by Square Peg Books, Vintage Books, and Penguin Random House.
Muse: The Exhibition features works by Sunil Gupta, Kim Leutwyler, Pixy Liao, and Nilupa Yasmin, as well as works from the Estate of Francis Bacon and illustrations from the book by artist Dina Razin. According to the curator and author Ruth Millington, the idea behind the exhibition is to redefine the term ‘muse.’ Most times when thinking of this term, images of a fragile western woman with piercing eyes, flowing hair, and porcelain skin come to mind. She is to be gazed upon and brings great success to artists–but who is this muse? The exhibition, addressing works soon to be discussed in Millington’s book, takes off the rose-coloured lenses to lift the veil and add additional context to the muse’s life, exploring how important they were as individuals rather than simply being reduced to an airy essence of beauty. By developing the idea of the muse not only as white western women but as men, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people of colour, this more accurately reflects the world we live in. All of the works demonstrate this changing narrative and the diversity is refreshing.
Sunil Gupta, Untitled 7, 2008. Archival inkjet print, 70.9 x 106.7 cm.
Sunil Gupta’s photography is featured on the first floor. His work explores the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community, which he is part of as a gay man, as well as issues of race and identity. Untitled 7 depicts a man lounging on a day bed peacefully sleeping and brings to mind the Renaissance cliché of a woman reclining topless on a day bed. The photograph evokes a calm sweetness and portrays the act of stumbling upon something that is so simple yet so beautiful, like a partner sleeping, with striking intensity and intimacy. It sets a fairly ordinary scene, yet so clearly radiates love and inspiration.
Pixy Liao, Homemade Sushi, 2010. Digital c-print, 37.4 x 49.9 cm.
Pixy Liao’s photographs are also on display. Her work explores power dynamics in heterosexual relationships between men and women and her ongoing project Experimental Relationship (2007-present) explores the relationship with her partner Moro who is 5 years younger than Liao–which she says is something she has never experienced. Two of her works are on display, Homemade Sushi (2010) and Mind-control is a woman’s essential skill (2010). Homemade Sushi features Liao’s lover and personal muse Moro naked and wrapped in their bedding as if he were a sushi roll. The image is playful with an almost childlike quality to it. Since Moro’s youth is something novel to Liao, using this playful imagery evokes a sense of his youth and demonstrates her power over him. Here, Moro is displayed in a vulnerable situation with Liao controlling how he is seen. By depicting and observing this dynamic between a man as the muse and the woman as the artist with more control, the roles are reversed, both rejecting and challenging the traditional canon of western art history.
Pixy Liao, Mind-control is a woman’s essential skill, 2010. Digital c-print, 49.9 x 37.4 cm.
Mind-control is a woman’s essential skill (2010) features a portrait of Moro with Liao’s hands placed over his skull and directly produces a juxtaposition of artist and muse. The artist is featured, although we only see her hands–her own means of creation with bright red lacquered fingernails. The grip on her muse’s head is gentle but firm, further pushing the relationship between power and femininity. Moro’s glance is cast aside and away from the viewer, demonstrating Liao’s possession of control–even over the viewer who cannot interact with him unless she allows it. Moro’s sideways gaze in Mind-control is a woman’s essential skill in contrast with his direct gaze at the viewer in Homemade Sushi directly plays with the power of the artist and the muse–the gazing and the gazed upon.
Nilupa Yasmin, photograph from series Grow me a Waterlily, 2017. Digital print and hand-woven photographic installation.
Further, The Royal Over-Seas League’s stairs are lined with the work of Nilupa Yasmin. Her series Grow me a Waterlily is a beautiful tribute to identity told through a total of 42 photographs, 12 of which are on display. Playful and full of personality, Yasmin explores her identity in these self-portraits through her clothes, including her mother’s wedding saree and her own headscarf. Demonstrating the power of being inspired by ideas of the self, an intricately patterned background enhances not only the jovial nature of her photographs but also enforces the idea that she is one person with many selves. Many of us identify strongly with our own identity, but we are also made up of small parts of other individuals’ identities and experiences. Here, Yasmin uses herself as the muse because, after all, shouldn’t everyone be their own muse?
Kim Leutwyler, Faustina the Fuzz, 2019. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 76.2 x 76.2 cm.
Rounding out the exhibition are two of Kim Leutwyler’s portraits Faustina the Fuzz (2019) and Agolley (2020) which sit at the top of the staircase. Luetwyler’s work is concerned with notions of beauty, gender, and queer identity. Faustina the Fuzz portrays openly queer actor, broadcaster, television producer, writer, and DJ Faustina Agolley. Luetwyler says she was drawn to Agolley for her strong convictions and desire for self-development. The portraits capture the essence and aura of her muse, and she uses abstraction to give them a unique quirkiness, suggesting that the viewer have fun when looking at them. The bright, tasteful use of colour and a contradictory palette in her work draw the eye of the viewer. She poses her muse in a stance that emulates power, and when looking at the portrait, a sense of respect and drive jumps off the canvas. To see a queer woman of colour with her portrait on the wall of a historical building like the Royal Over-Seas League felt like a perfect culmination of the exhibition’s intention.
Artist Dina Razin, also the illustrator for Millington’s book, is also on display with her soulful illustrations of muses including entertainment icons like Beyonce and Tilda Swinton. Her work has a whimsical quality to it, although she does not use colour in her illustrations on display. Her portraiture’s unique style grabs your attention, especially with the use of shapes and patterns. She combines her muses with flowers and leaves which evoke a sense of feminine beauty and power. Engulfed by mother nature, the elegance and complexity of women and their beauty are tastefully displayed.
Dina Razin, Tilda Swinton, 2022. Giclée Print, 59.4 x 42 cm.
Providing a fantastic analysis of a different perspective of art history, Muse: The Exhibition calls for the viewer to employ a deeper understanding and curiosity about the subjects behind beautiful and significant works of art. Rather than standing passively and skimming the surface by admiring only the outer beauty of these muses, the viewer is required to think critically about their stories and how impactful they are in contributing to art history. As Millington says, “Where would an artist be without their muse?” If these muses provided inspiration, support, and aid to many famous artists during the making of their works of art, shouldn’t they be credited as such?
Muse: The Exhibition will be on display through 10 April 2022 at the Royal Over-Seas League in London. To order Muse: Uncovering The Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces, click here.
In coordination with the exhibition, the following events will also be available to attend:
Life Drawing and Q&A with Lucian Freud’s muse Sue Tilley on 17 March at 6:30 pm.
Tickets are available here.
Panel Discussion: Does the Artist’s Muse Have a Place in the Modern World? on 31 March at 6:30 pm.
Tickets are available here.
Book launch on 7 April at 6:30 pm.
Tickets are available here.
Hannah Savage
Reviews Editor, MADE IN BED