We interview Frances Mann ahead of a solo show ‘Late Paintings’ An exhibition of rarely seen late works by British painter, Sargy Mann. Curated by Chantal Joffe RA, a former pupil of Mann, the exhibition charts his journey towards his remarkable late vision revealing how the painter’s failing sight ultimately liberated him, resulting in the simple freshness and intimacy which characterises these works made at the end of his career.
What was it like to see Sargy’s work develop through his eye sight deterioration and eventual blindness?
Frances Mann: When I first knew Sargy he was probably seeing better than he had at any time in life. Having not long before had cataracts removed he was no longer very short sighted. Over the 40 years or so we were together his work changed with the changes to his eye sight but it had also been in continual development in those first first years when until his first retinal detachment he could see fairly well. Apart from the worry about whether he would be able to paint again after each eye operation or through a period of deteriorating vision it was always exciting seeing what happened. His resilience and lack of gloom throughout meant we both just accepted the next situation as normal. This is true even of when he became totally blind, though by then I was doing much more to help, doing things like mixing more of a particular colour. Colour was massively important to Sargy, mostly to evoke light and though his memory of it was very good and he could usually mix what he wanted, matching on the palette a colour that was already on the painting was something I did for him.
What was it like sitting for Sargy? Can you explain his process?
FM: When I sat for Sargy it was not as it normally is for a painter and model because I was not usually there for very long. He would collect a lot of information, feeling my position and making measurements and marking distances on his white stick for instance or moving bits of blutac on his canvas and then when he had as much in his head as he thought he could remember I would go leaving him to paint. He was able to retain a lot in his head.
How has Sargy’s work affected your perception of observational painting?
FM: Watching Sargy made me realise that more than anything painting is about getting the right colour in the right place.
Please can you tell us about ‘Late Paintings’ show, and how you have come to be working with Chantal Joffe?
FM: Years ago Sargy used to be the painting tutor on marvellous residential landscape painting courses that ILEA organised for talented young artists in secondary schools and Chantal Joffe was on one such course and as a result went on to do a foundation course at Camberwell where Sargy taught. She, much later, wrote a lovely piece in the RA magazine about Sargy. The selection of works for this show was made by Chantal. She was happy to be asked to curate this show.
How do you see Sargy’s place in Art History?
FM: Impossible to answer that, but Sargy helped so many people to look freshly at the beauty of the world and that’s a very good thing. He was very fond of Monet’s account of how, when he ( Monet) was finally persuaded to go and paint out doors beside Boudin he said “the scales fell from my eyes’.
Sargy Mann – ‘Late Paintings’ is on 27 February 2019 – 10 March 2019 at Royal Drawing School, Shoreditch.
You can also enjoy ….‘In conversation: Chantal Joffe, Olivia Laing and Frances Mann’ at 6.30pm – 8.30pm on28 February 2019.
On Tuesday 5th March there will be an event in the gallery which might also be of interest to you. In conversation: Jonathan Watkins, Semir Zeki and Robert Pepperell. A discussion on art, visual perception and the seeming paradox at the heart of the work of Sargy Mann.
