“It’s not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it,” wrote stoic philosopher Lucius Seneca. The phrase appeared in his essay “De Brevitate Vitae,” or, “On the Shortness of Life,” which he scratched into papyrus around 49 A.D. Nearly 2,000 years on, his words reflect what is still a fundamental concern of life—how to spend it wisely? For artist Marc Padeu, the notion of humans’ futile control of time forms the basis of a new suite of works in Memento Vivere, on view starting tomorrow at Larkin Durey.
Padeu is known for merging scenes of daily life with references to Renaissance religious paintings. Among his newest works, “La promesse et l’agneau” (“The promise and the lamb”) most distinctly continues this theme. In the center of the composition, a young child is seated on the lap of his mother, both of whom are flanked by adults who bring gifts and tidings in a nod to the artistic tradition of the Adoration of the Magi, or the nativity.
Latin for “remember to live,” the title nods to Seneca and serves as a reminder to grasp life by the reins before it’s too late. It’s also a complement to more common art historical theme of memento mori, or “remember you will die,” which serves a similar purpose of reminding the viewer that life is short and any wealth or grandeur one pursues means nothing when one is dead. Instead, it’s important to focus on things that really matter: family, nature, craft, and so on.
Padeu’s narrative portray individuals and communities who work on the cocoa plantations in his native Cameroon. “Days follow one another, harvests come round again and yet, despite this ebb and flow of life, his figures are caught outside of time, slipping between past, present and future,” the gallery says. The artist infuses his compositions with a sense of divine birth and the mysterious sublime. “Each painting is poised between promise and fate, light and shade; the figures existing simultaneously in a spiritual and secular realm, neither saints nor heroes but with a growing awareness that life is a fragile gift.”
Memento Vivere opens on July 17 and continues through August 14 in London. See more on the artist’s Instagram.
