CONTAINMENT: new perspectives on the human form
Opening Reception: Friday July 9, 2010, 6-10pm
At GARFO Art Center in Visual Art Institute

Containment is an exhibition that surveys and re-evaluates the figure in contemporary art from the inside out. Local, national, and international artists Jenny Morgan, Pooneh Maghazehe, Sri Whipple, Jayoung Yoon, Rebecca Campbell, Rob Lorie, Shantel Kristin Bennett, and Jaron Anderson—work across diverse media to examine the figure; both as a container for human emotion and the mind, and as something contained by the outside world and all its cultural and historic implications.

Using figurative work as a springboard, containment features the often more traditional approach (painting and portrait), but also branches to alternative interpretations and methods of dealing with the body. Video, performance, costume, cast, and textile works reveal a look at not only the recognized surface of the body, but also at the interior--and exterior--and the constructions and shrouding made to encase it.

The accomplished emerging artists in containment have been featured in several noteable publications, institutions, and prominent galleries worldwide, including Adbusters, The New York Times, Washington Post, Art Ltd., New American Paintings, Flavorpill, The Chelsea Museum, PS-1, The Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery, LA Louver, and more.

224 Roebling Street
Brooklyn, New York 11211
www.likethespice.com
718.388.5388
Mon. Wed. – Sat. 12-8:00 Sun. 12-7:00
For Immediate Release

Marked: A Show Of Figure
June 11th – August 8th, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday June 11th, 2010, 6:30pm - 10pm
Artist’s Dinner: Figure Ates - Friday June 25th, 2010
8:00pm – 10:00pm RSVP Required

It is little wonder that interpretations of the figure have been and continue to be so admired. After all, the figure is perhaps the most archaic and explored of all styles of art. Yet, even today, our cultural mastery of the figure can be redefined, reinvested, and reinvigorated by emerging artists. In the works exhibited at Like the Spice during Marked, six artists use the figure to reflect personal narratives of their own design.

The body contains history, living stories written in time. Every moment leaves its mark; every mark takes its moment. What comes from this is a mix of independent narratives, or perhaps a collection of fictions built from facts. The use of the figure, such a traditional idea, opens the door for many untraditional explorations. Instead of what is, our artists have chosen to paint what they think we should see, and in so doing opened our eyes to a new type of story; one we might never have been able to find alone.

In a perfect example of this guiding hand, Alison Bickle exaggerates her figures and forms, ending up in a fantasy self, walking through a world filled with a sense of freedom. Alison's narrative occurs as she builds from emotion, instead of any real being. In this way, Alison captures moments full of the feelings she chooses to portray, rather than the truthful persona from which she, or we, could be escaping.

The figures of Dean Goelz are a merger of sculpture, painting and illustration, anti-humanoid humanoids that slip into frame from the corner of the eye. A mix of trial and transformation, Dean's figures are incarnations from another place, emerging as though alluded to, and not so much occupying our space as visiting it, like a tourist who plans to return home. Dean's pieces are steeped in their own mythology, but still are clear and familiar to anyone ever cast as the outsider.

Brendan Lott takes a different route, acting as the omniscient narrator to the story he defines. Brendan picks his images from shared online folders and sends them to China, where painters redefine the events these strangers have lived. Freed from clear context, the paintings are now behind a smokescreen, forcing us to confront our own collection of youthful mistakes. In the vacancy he offers, we are allowed to find our own reasons, and invent our own paths.

Jenny Morgan also offers a path within her pieces, as the deeper story of her work's creation reflects the progression of intentional entropy. The layers of Jenny's work collect to form history: a base of red, the scars of early sanding, final touches of light or finish. In this way she tears to the center of her subjects, creating deep colors that lock the memory of strong emotions into the canvas, and speaking as to the inside of our bodies.

The watercolors of Reuben Negron show their subjects in the erotic candor generally left to the imagination. But hidden within the layers of watercolor is the shared intimacy that comes from a relationship, and the scenes play out as both strange and familiar at the same time. His choice to work in watercolor means that each layer of the piece must dry before he can continue, and so it is clear to see how the work has happened over time. We are left to follow like a traveler.

The work of Robin Williams glosses nostalgic. Her portraits invoke a darkness that somehow keeps all its color, like the bright and curious monsters of childhood or the warning patterns on a poisonous plant. Those figures inhabiting her world are calm and know no other life, but the story of their world leaves us astonished, unnerved and intrigued.

April 2 - May 8, 2010

gallery 1
Mirror, Mirror - a show of portraits
featuring ALEXA MEADE, CHRIS VERENE, JENNY MORGAN, JASON ROBERT BELL, KATE GILMORE, TAMAS BANOVICH, URSULA ENDLICHER, WILLIAM POWHIDA and YEVGENIY FIKS

opening reception: Friday, April 2, 6-8 pm

Mirror, Mirror
The portrait has been a staple of the art going back to the Egyptians and the sculptural bust of Nefertiti. Then 3300 or so years later came Andy and Alice and Chuck and Cindy and Annie. What's next? The mind wanders and wonders about something new and relevant to the present moment that the genre can deliver. "Mirror, Mirror" is a group exhibition of nine artists engaged with contemporary portraiture in all media. The works in the show present a variety of approaches from realistic, exquisitely rendered paintings of the artist’s friends (Jenny Morgan) and traditional portraits of the members of American Communist Party (Yevgeniy Fiks) to bitingly satirical drawings (William Powhida), unsettling video self portraits (Kate Gilmore), photographs of three generations of artist's family in rural midwest (Chris Verene), video reenactments of people on Facebook who share the same name (Ursula Endlicher), portraits painted directly on top of the people they represent and then photographed to look like a painting (Alexa Meade), and metaphysical psychedelic portraits of people’s souls (Jason Robert Bell). Tamas Banovich, will contribute a work involving Chatroulette.

Magdalena Sawon
Postmasters Gallery
459 west 19th street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-3323
www.postmastersart.com
postmasters@thing.net

It's hard to believe that Jenny Morgan's output to date numbers close to 100 paintings since graduating as Valedictorian from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design just six years ago in 2003. What's even more remarkable is the quality and progression of the work that's been inherent from the start, both through her first three years in Denver and now continuing on in NYC. We know that Morgan's career is going to be considered of major importance one day and value the fact that we've been with her every step of the way. We are currently finalizing a major monograph book that will be available for release next month. "New Territory" commemorates Morgan's gifts as a painter and the remarkable momentum she has built through sharp dedication and focus on her career. The book will feature nearly every painting she has exhibited since debuting in Denver at Pirate Gallery with the exhibition "Delicate Disclosure" leading all the way up through the current paintings on view in the NYC show "Civil Union" and our very own "This Too Shall Pass." While a good portion of the images will be familiar to clients and followers of Morgan's work, there are many gaps that will be filled including some of the most exciting paintings of the last two years from her NYC shows and studio. All together the book will be over 200 pages in full color and a very impressive and collectible piece in it's own right. "New Territory" will be available initially through pre-order via the gallery at a discounted rate and eventually to the public on Blurb.com at a higher rate. To reserve your copy now, contact ivar@plusgallery.com or stop by the gallery to learn more.