Inez Storer
Donna Carmen in Ecstasy, 1998 artist book
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Donna Carmen in Ecstasy, 1998 artist book Limited edition artist book with monoprints 60 x 40 in.de Saisset Museum permanent collection, 2002.2 |
For over four decades, Inverness-based Inez Storer has pursued her own uniquely personal and idiosyncratic style of figuration, despite periods in which abstraction remained the prevalent avant-garde trend. Storer’s delightfully accessibly works are both formally satisfying and rich in content, addressing universal themes of identity, spirituality, imagination, and history.
Storer’s dream-like paintings and prints possess a charming naivete that belies the complexity of their production. The artist says that she is "fascinated by process" and her work often incorporates collage elements and found objects layered atop painted images and text. Because of this, her work makes reference to the long-standing Bay Area funk tradition of collage and assemblage. Personal narrative also figures prominently in Storer’s paintings, prints, and installations. She describes her own aesthetic process as a method of uncovering buried histories. One of the most important of these histories for Storer’s work is her Jewish identity. References to Russian folk art within her works allude to the influence of her husband, Russian artist Andrew Romanov, who is a grand nephew of a Russian czar.
This handmade limited edition artist book documents the life of the fictional character Donna Carmen. Featuring eight pages of text and image, the work follows Carmen as she progresses through important — and universal — passages in her life. Featuring the artist’s characteristic sense of humor and delightfully simple style, the book provides a wonderful introduction to Storer’s very unique vision.
In Fall 2004, the de Saissset Museum will present the first retrospective exhibition of Storer’s work. The exhibition will feature approximately 30 paintings produced from 1960 to the present, as well as fine examples of Storer’s prints, artist books, and assemblages.