Urgent Museum Notice

Ingomar

Close up of Ingomar

A symmetrical abstract painting of geometric, interlaced, orange lines on a white back ground.
A symmetrical abstract painting of geometric, interlaced, orange lines on a white back ground.
Valerie Jaudon, Ingomar, 1979; Oil and metallic paint on canvas, 80 x 72 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Josephine Cockrell Thornton; © Valerie Jaudon, © Valerie Jaudon/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

The interlacing bars of color in Jaudon’s Ingomar resemble Celtic or Islamic designs. Jaudon was associated with the Pattern and Decoration movement of the 1970s, which critiqued the prevailing viewpoint that decorative art objects, motifs, and techniques were superficial when compared to the conceptual basis of the fine arts.

Jaudon’s paintings explore the perceived boundary between these two approaches to art, combining the beauty and intricacy of decorative design with the theoretical processes that underpin abstract painting.

Although her designs are symmetrical and precisely drawn, Jaudon applied paint with vigorous brushstrokes. The ridges and valleys of copper-colored paint in Ingomar catch the light and emphasize the careful handwork required to create the painting. Jaudon titled her paintings made in the 1970s after cities in her home state of Mississippi (Ingomar is a town located in the north of the state). This random naming system was intended to deter the perception of the paintings as descriptive or narrative.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Valerie Jaudon
  • Title

    Ingomar
  • Date

    1979
  • Medium

    Oil and metallic paint on canvas
  • Dimensions

    80 x 72 in.
  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Josephine Cockrell Thornton
  • On Display

    No