The Spectrum

Issue date: 4/14/05 Section: Campus Art Through Student Eyes

Media Credit: Pat Scalisi

"Fence on Pequot Road," 1993
Jane Sutherland
Gouache on Paper
Gift of the artist
Main Academic Building, between SC108 and SC 109

Jane Sutherland is an extremely well-known Connecticut artist and past recipient of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce's Artist of the Year award. Most recognized for her paintings of fences, gates and dogs, Sutherland focuses her artwork on places she has directly observed. "I choose fences and gates for three reasons," she said. "First, I was attracted to the repetition in their form and also by their balance. Second, I saw in them a bit of mystery, for example, what is behind them and also the possibility posed by their function as entrances and departures. Third, I wanted to present a sense of contradiction and connection between the lush tangle and textures of grasses and leaves and the formality of the gates and fences."

Sutherland's work, "Fence on Pequot Road," has been displayed at Sacred Heart for the past decade. Located in Southport, the real fence on Pequot Road was destroyed by a car only months after the painting was completed. In an interview with the Connecticut Post, Sutherland said, "My fences are a record of a part of America that is fast disappearing."

Sutherland elicits a variety of emotion through her artwork and she hopes that "Fence on Pequot Road" will give viewers a sense of serenity and calmness. Sutherland's choice of color and design in creating a rusting fence captures a sense of reality and mystery. In showing only a small portion of the fence in her painting, Sutherland is leaving the audience to their own interpretation as to what the rest of the fence may look like. The painting also encompasses several focal points, including the rusted portion of the fence, the main support post, and the overwhelming sense of green created in the plant life.

There is an equal balance of activity and movement in this painting. The plant life appears wild and spontaneous and one can almost envision the wind blowing through the plants. In contrast, the fence seems to provide a sense of control and balance through its appearance of strength and sturdiness. Sutherland's decision to paint only the lower portion of the fence invokes a sense of curiosity and wonder regarding the height and appearance of the fence.

"Fence on Pequot Road" combines its sense of tranquility with a feeling of life and nature captured through the color and depth of the green plant. The excessive amounts and contrasting shades of green greatly enhance the painting. The plant life beyond the fence appears much darker and intense, while the plants in the forefront of the painting appear sparse and not nearly as harsh. Sutherland placed great detail upon developing the leaves' edges and state of health in the grass. It appears that perhaps the plant life may be dying or was possibly eaten by animals. Some strands of grass are also lacking color and appear to be bent in half if as in the process of drying out or dying.

Overall, "Fence on Pequot Road" is an enjoyable work to observe. It combines several themes that at once elicit feelings of calm and virility.

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