ELECTROMAGNIFIC
Curated by
Carolina Duque
November 1 - December 6, 2008
Opening Reception
Saturday 11.01.08, 5 - 8 pm
artist talk @ 6 pm
It seems that in the modern world many significant decisions are conceived without much reasoning. Geopolitical discussion and the broad spectrum of mass media coverage frequently overshadow the needs of an individual. On a daily basis we are surrounded by "kitsch": visual, cerebral and material. Gimmicks eclipse important information concerning our future interests. The violent assault on our eyes and psyches by colorful packaging, rapid image movement and fear seems absurd when viewed with a critical eye. Given this context it is important to re-evaluate the nature and function of painting. Considering the pluralism of the world, the need for structurally sound painting is in favorable standing. Painting inherently slows down our reading of the visual and material world, and seeks to clarify our understanding of it. We propose to reduce the clutter of "Post"-Modern American culture by reexamining the world through the lens of painting.
The artists engaged in this proposal, Carolina Duque, Jason Lacroix, Marc Mitchell and Bartek Walicki use varied sources for their work. These can be immediate surroundings of interior spaces or the urban strip such as fences, gates, brick walls and wall paper. Others choose to focus their interest on formal aspects, generating pictures from work itself or initiated by ideas derived from master paintings. The objectified world transformed through personal experience and creative process produces a personal vision. Although the paintings and drawings vary in size and medium ranging from acrylic on panel, gauche on paper to oil and resin on wood, they resonate strongly as a whole. Carolina Duque's large, acrylic paintings are process driven. She works on two formats: small gauche drawings made in sketchbooks and the large, imposing panels. Her method is simple and aesthetically logical. She begins with an oval shape, a stand-in for the figure, which she then cuts and folds. From these she proceeds to make drawings that guide her investigations onto large scale. The ultimate test for her art is that it should stand its ground when placed side-by-side ancient stone carvings of the pre-Colombian culture. Jason LaCroix is interested in the phenomena of visual perception that he creates by contradictions in figure ground relationships. He uses grids and circles imbued with color, which then function as space and form simultaneously. This combination is designed to overlap perfectly along the picture's edge, thus producing an irregular pattern that is contained by and a product of the picture plane's parameters. Marc Mitchell's art is objective in nature, but abstracted in execution. Marc explores images in which the viewer senses architectural form and space by means of simple geometric shapes, pattern, and color. The imagery used to create these pictures is based on architectural elements and textiles that he observes on a daily basis. The inspiration behind Bartek Walicki's recent body of work comes from the Iraq war, general humanitarian situation in Africa and the Middle East. The graphic quality of his work is derived from his interest in poster art, cartoon imagery and graphic design. The colors are selected from those of a dollar bill or caution signs. The pictures are large, their size inspired by the silver screen. They are most successful when they have an impact capable of rivaling the more prevalent images of the media and entertainment industry.
We aspire though the act of viewing to expose and explore visual sensitivities present in all of us, yet not exercised in our daily lives.
Featured Artists
Carolina DuqueMarc Mitchell
Bartek Walicki
Jason LaCroix