Vineyard artist Margot Datz, known for her magical realism paintings, murals and illustrations, opened a one-night show Saturday at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury.
Margot in Wonderland included 11 new works of nature-inspired fantasies, including an iridescent mermaid head dress and swimming gloves with live fish for fingers. Many older works were also displayed. Paintings nearly covered the walls and prints were lined up on a long table.
Brief writings by the artist accompanied the new works. One with a painting of a woman wearing a flower-laden hat explained that the wearer could hide out in a garden all day, perfectly camouflaged. Another said inspiration for the body of work came from a tumultuous past year.
“I am reeling from extremes, feeling a bit lost, and plenty confused, like my own version of Alice in Wonderland,” the artist wrote. “We are all in the same Wonderland now, with a cast of characters that rivals the tale. I am illustrating here some of my adventures.”
Ms. Datz warmly greeted visitors to the Grange Hall on Saturday. More than 100 people attended. The show was an opportunity for old friends to greet one another to share the events of the past year. “A lot of people are really confused. Things are no longer the way they used to be,” Ms. Datz said.
But she sees the struggles as growing pains.
“There’s always an awkward phase before a growth spurt. As uncomfortable as it is, it’s good for exploring new things,” she said.
Ms. Datz explores new and fantastical themes in her work, but wants to be sure the viewer comes along with her. Realism provides this welcoming hand. Recognizable forms such as reliquary paintings and Persian miniatures provide a contextual bridge.
Ms. Datz said that as the years go by, she continues to refine her technique. “The paintbrushes keep getting smaller. Pretty soon I’m going to be painting with my eyelash,” she said.
Ms. Datz said her ever-present mermaid character represents women who balance their modern, clear-headed selves with their untamable spirit. But Lynn Van Auken saw her daughter. “It’s Eva,” she said, holding up a print of a mermaid in a bathtub. Her daughter Eva Wilson will be going away to college in the fall, she explained, and taking baths was Eva’s high school coping mechanism. She said she hoped the mermaid stand-in would remind her daughter to take time for herself.
Ms. Datz said the show was an opportunity for her to take a break from commissions and think about her most personal work. Margot in Wonderland was the product of a period of deep introspection, Ms. Datz said, and sharing the result was an intimate experience.
“I had four people come to me with tears in their eyes,” she said. “If I can touch people’s hearts like that, I’ve arrived.”
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