I went out around town on Friday night, checking out the latest works of both local and international artists. I started my night at a new gallery on Main Street (the name escapes me), where I saw a lot of paintings in a great space. The majority of the paintings were interesting, but there was one painting in particular by and artist named Chris Metze. His work had a very well painted surface, and his marks reminded me a little bit of Cy Twombly and Cindy Neuschwander. The color was very quiet with a calming essence about it. What I liked most about the work was the subtle drawing that seemed to occur both under and on top of the painted color fields. Take a look at his website to get an idea of his work, but do so realizing that the digital image only tells a portion of the story.
Next, I went to the Page Bond Gallery, where I was able to see Stephen Clark's newest paintings. I've been following Clark's work for close to ten years, having been originally inspired by his mark making and his use of space that resembled those noticed in Chris Metze's work this weekend. I was also drawn to the exceptionally reduced palette used in his work. It was nice to see the new images that he is creating, but I still have a stronger connection to the simplicity of his work from around '00 - '03. Having looked through his resume, I've noticed that the work on display right now at Page Bond will travel to the OKHarris Gallery in the SoHo district of New York City. I highly recommend taking a look at some NYC quality art in Richmond VA.
While at the Page Bond Gallery, I also noticed some work by another well known painter named Peri Scwartz. Her work was simply painted well. I stood in front of her painting with a couple of other gallery goers and talked about why it was such a good painting. We discussed the derivation of Richard Diebenkorn's geometry, and the elongated, linear structure of Alberto Giacometti's work. I checked the price list, because I was curious what it would take to own a painting of hers, and I was disappointed to see a price tag of $18,000! I love art, but I just can't afford artwork with that heavy price tag. I'll have to just look at her work online for now. After looking at her body of work online, I found myself wishing that her subject matter varied a bit more. Each of her paintings is well constructed, with interesting surfaces, but seeing the same subject in each of her paintings was not as exciting as seeing one of her pieces on its own in a gallery.
After Page Bond, I darted across the street to the Reynolds Gallery, where my current VCU Graduate School painting professor, Sally Bowring, had her work on display among some of the most celebrated local and national artists. Her work was impressive in its scale, and intensely complicated in its surface. I spoke inquisitively with her about her work, asking questions that she often answered with questions of her own. When I asked her why she paints what she paints, her response was simply "Why do you breathe". Her answer was honest, quick witted, and exceptionally descriptive for its brevity; a concise answer from an artist whose life has been defined by creation. It was so typically "Sally", and made me realize why I enjoy learning from her.
After the entertainment at the Reynolds gallery, I moved downtown to Broad St. to view the work at the 1708 Gallery, where we viewed, in my opinion, the most interesting work of the night. Young Kim's show titled "Salt and Earth" was incredibly conceptual, and made from surprising media. The work was more of an installation than it was anything, as the show's focal point was a narrow grid of photo-emulsion screen printed portraits of people whose expressions projected the essence of meditation. The images were screen printed with red clay dust, and were created on meticulously formed, raised rectangular stacks of salt with beveled edges and rounded corners. Each of these meticulous screen printed salt stacks was accompanied by a small bowl of liquid placed just in front of the image. The entire collection of stacks were individually lit by the track lights, and the overall ambient light in the gallery dimmed exactly 365 times each day. Each of the elements within the exhibit was biblically relative.
I spoke with the artist for a long time, trying to get to the root of these interesting images. They seemed very process oriented, and I was curious if he felt that the process was more important than the permanent image. He didn't really seem to find any one aspect of his work more important than any other, claiming that each was an essential element to the work, therefore lacking any hierarchy of importance to him. The work's impermanence was no less a part of the work than the imagery that he has chosen to depict. I found him to be incredibly conceptual, and very concerned with the crafting of his images.
After an viewing the art at 1708, we crossed Broad Street and entered Lift Coffee Shop, where Alex Bailey's work was on display. His new work is very different than the work that he was creating in his senior year at DRHS. The new images still retain the influence of Arshile Gorky, but the use of typography and handwriting give his images a new context. I'm very excited about where his work will go next, as I'm sure it will change a great deal over the next few years in the painting and printmaking department at VCU.
The final stop of the night was the ADA GALLERY, where my friend Langdon Graves had her work featured. I hadn't seen any of her work since she finished her Master's Degree from the Parson's School of Design in NYC. The new work was incredibly meticulous, combining an odd array of drawing and sculptural forms. The overall color of her work resembled cotton candy, and the images left me scratching my head wondering...... "how did she create this, and why did she create this". I didn't have time to read her artist's statement, so I think I might have to email her to ask her about her work.
Overall, the First Fridays of November was one of the best ones that I've experienced. Hopefully, many of you will do your gallery critiques a little early for the second nine weeks, and will get a chance to critique some of the work that I saw this weekend. I think there are plenty of interesting images out there to view and critique.
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