Peter Gustavson
Wired Gallery
ELEMENTAL
In a new exhibit at Wired Gallery, four artists, Lorraine Glessner, Emily Thompson, Alan Hines, and Nancy Agati, raise questions concerning how all of creation - the universe, earth, nature, and humanity - coexists, connects and interweaves.
Lorraine Glessner s pieces consist of intricate surfaces created by layers of various materials: transparent silks, thread, paper, paint and wax that have been subjected to many deconstructing processes such as burning and burying. The visual remains of the natural processes of decomposition bring the viewer closer to nature's destructive power while also witnessing nature s regenerative abilities.
Patterns and textures in her work give venue to huge concepts like the vastness of the cosmos, while paralleling the infinitesimal world of cells. With the use of intricate surfaces and immense fields, the eye is forced to wander across the canvas, yet the viewer is filled with a sense of quiet and inner tranquility provided by the harmony within the whole.
|Emily Thompson s vibrant works illustrate the best qualities of abstract painting, that there are no restrictions . She shows us that often the most perfect beauty is found in simplicity of design and harmony of color. She uses acrylics initially for the base of her paintings, and then adds layers of oils, followed by a selection of graphite, pastel, oil sticks, dry pigments or powders to create depth and texture.
Alan Hines work exemplifies the unity of man and nature. The energy of his paintings is derived from the dramatic, ever-changing landscape. Geologic and geographic features lend their shapes to his work and evolve into integral, architectural elements. While they begin with man s age-old fascination with nature, they evolve into compositions in which man-made texture is the primary subject.
His canvases explore the way in which textures merge, collide, and overlap. He uses a variety of found objects to accomplish the effect of layers building up and wearing away. They range from various types of paper, discarded packing materials, trash, weathered ads and notices torn from plywood Post No Bills walls.
Nancy Agati s paintings on acrylic cubes are mirages of land that offer a glimpse of nature through the eyes of the artist. Painted in a brushy, impressionist fashion, they offer portable landscape chunks that draw you into her microscopic view of life. The lines and shapes assume a certain surface design that calls our attention to things that develop inside the earth and inside the body.
Debora Martin
Gallery Siano
METALLURGY (Joan Konkel)
At first glance Joan Konkel's exhibition in Gallery Siano, (which is being presented with a series of other exhibitions collectively titled Metallurgy), appears to be nothing more than various colors of fabrics that have been attached to different pieces of refrigerators. Look again. They are so much more than that, and the work will leave you in awe. She plays tricks on your eyes. Her technique changes your perception. Imagine artwork which morphs based on the angle you view it.
Konkel tends to use aluminum, acrylic, and paper meshed on canvas. She handles these objects in such a way so that they are no longer merely aluminum or acrylic but a living piece of work. She breathes life into her art by manipulating space and light as well as taking into consideration the different positions from which a work of art is examined. Joan Konkel's exhibition creates a sense of exploration. Once you unlock the mystery of how one of her artwork alters based on your positioning and view, you will want to discover the further eye tricks in her other works. Each one is unique in the sense of how the different colors she utilizes are hidden, revealed and demonstrated. The work allows the viewer to become a participant. You do not merely stand and stare pondering the history, the story and such of the piece, but you actively understand the art. I will give an example to explain her techniques.
In her work Fissure (54 x 54 x 2"), you can come to comprehend her manipulations. The piece is predominantly aluminum. At first, due to this aluminum background, a red strip of acrylic catches the attention of your eyes. The red strip appears cut off from the aluminum because of two black lines of acrylic on ether side of the red.
It confines the red acrylic to a certain amount of space. However, what appears to be under the red, a variation of green and yellow shapes, seems to elongate and expand the red. How does it manage to deceive the viewer? The green and yellow colors are scattered. They run up and down, left and right seemingly beneath the red acrylic creating an illusion of enlargement. The green and yellow appear to be in motion. The colors clearly do not literally walk on the canvas but to the eye they do in fact move. This can become apparent when you move from left to right. The colors shift.
Lighting plays a major role in all of Konkel's work. Fissure is no exception. She confines light within the open space between the aluminum and the red acrylic, illuminating the green and yellow. Also the aiding gallery lights bring to surface the sheerness of the aluminum, the brightness of the red and the subtle touches of green and yellow colors.
Konkel's work features well-layered materials and colors. The aluminum is three- dimensional. You can touch it, (although I would advise against that unless you plan to buy it). The green and yellow are then placed followed by a layer of red acrylic. It's the layers, which entrap the eye. Imagine the same piece but flat. The work would lose its sense of texture and tangibility. The realness of the piece makes the work worth viewing. For instance, in a painting one can look at the depiction, but not physically touch that moment in time. In Fusion, the moment of time is right in front of you, the viewer. The piece fully exist in the here and now. It does not portray a place, a person or scenery. It does not reflect some distant event. Fusion represents itself.
Konkel has successfully taken objects that are plainly boring, and she has transformed them into intriguing works of art. Before her mind envisions the work, before her hand touches a piece of acrylic, the work does not exist. The aluminum sits. She puts them together in order to create. She realizes that simple items have the ability to complex the mind and become so much more than what they are.