Candied

Candied is a creation of pure chromatic opulence. Against a white ground, Mashian places eleven large sculptural teardrops. Each one is encrusted in gold and in its own internal universe. The large drops are gemological in their complexity, their surfaces built up in layer upon layer of mixed media.

Mashian’s gold borders around the teardrops are reminiscent of gilded frames in Renaissance panel painting. The tradition of gold as a sacred border runs from Duccio through Klimt, and Mashian translates that lineage into a contemporary celebration of color.

The surrounding field contains small drops that are individually and carefully rendered. No two are the same color or finish, and their accumulation creates a shimmering ground. The overall effect is a painting in which beauty and femininity is not a quality applied to the surface but the very subject of the work.