in-between \ intersection of architecture, sound, sculpture, painting and drawing \ parts activate to envelop the whole \ tensions ignite surfaces reshaped anew — from yellow to blue to pink, walls move with colour, tone marks air and objects hover between foundation and the fleeting

in-between this belief system meditation becomes a secular spirituality \ vibration from repurposed material converts to potential energy — moments dictated by origin \ solemnity of place provides autonomy from the spectacle of convention.

— john ros, may 2012

inLINE is an investigation of line, online @ galleryELL.com, featuring the artwork of galleryELL artists Joel Bacon, Kariann Fuqua & Deanna Lee, and introducing, Jiyoun Lee-Lodge, Kate McGraw & Mitch Patrick.

A line may consist of a mark or stroke — a plot from one point to another. Backward, forward, crisscrossed, curved. No matter the direction there is movement from point to point. A line represents a series of continuous points, people or places, fixated in time and whose duration is dependent on memory. Line is not necessarily temporally linear, it can be cross and multi-dimensionally linear. It is the journey of one point to the next that is the task in focus.

The idea of, “one point to another” can shed itself in many ways. Each tier unfolding a new dimension of understanding revealing the possibility therewith in. Whether marking specific points in space, or depicting an infinitesimal linear path throughout the cosmos, we encounter lines everywhere. Such marks define, locate, separate, divide, detach, sever, connect, bridge, link, unite, carry, transport and move our everyday.

From simple line drawings, to conceptual ideas of line in performance, the artist has long been fascinated. artists navigate lines everyday and can take one step further by recording and transcribing them. The very decision to remark on the line creates a new standard on which to understand it — visually, temporary, even audibly — through a new lens of multiplicity. inLINE represents a look at six different approaches to dealing with line throughout a studio practice, a continual journey of remarking, defining, stretching and discovering.

In this recent series of paintings, Joel Bacon is primarily interested in colour. Taking it a step further the surface becomes a matrix of plotted space in time. He layers surfaces in a ritualistic and calculated way, as if the plots yield some boundary or are representative of some type of monoculture. “Since my desire is to evaluate color choices and how they effect ‘abstract’ art making I chose to start with a simple grid. The grid acts as a recognizable framework upon which I lay down what I will call color ‘membranes’.” Joel’s “membranes” layer uniformly to create a grid of ritual build from line, a framework for his devout attention paid to the sculpting of space and time through line.

Kate McGraw brings us to another ritual. One less about precision and more of energy and endurance. The impact is a visible transcription of actual emotion: heat, love, desire. These energy works bring line in the form of break and restart — a persistence that comes form truly knowing something. “My drawing process is the investigation of time-based, energetic and physical space between darkness and light. My drawings are the translations of my experience within this duality — honoring spectral light while recognizing its periodic moments of absence.” Kate’s ability to see the “in-between” gains the trust of the viewer and enables them to navigate these timescapes with a new sense of knowing.

Time continues to play a roll in the drawings of Kariann Fuqua. At first notice, the maps seem to make emblematic boundary and time. “Using [data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], I am creating drawn mappings of the movement of the [Gulf of Mexico Deep Horizon] oil spill to visually re-contextualize the evidence of the disaster. … I am investigating the ambiguity and duality of a man-made disaster that conjures images of the sublime, where both the beautiful and the horrific intersect.” The time-lapsed images of beauty created from the horrific disaster enters a new thought of line. One of duration and memory. The line we draw to prevent future disasters and the line we travel until we decide to allow for further discovery in the wait of future disaster.

From time to the network of space, line travels throughout the work of Jiyoun Lee-Lodge as a result of her immediate surroundings. The interweaving of line develops a network, building upon each other, spaces create voluminous caverns and deep valleys and incorporates specific inhabitants. This use of line rolls with the imaginary as much as the tangible, so-much-so that the imaginary becomes tangible. “My kaleidoscopic abstract paintings deal with hybridity, identity in flux, and the fragility of memory. The experiences I portray come from a sensory level; I imagine tracing everything I perceive and feel around me — sounds, smells, emotions, and circumstances.” In her search, Jiyoun’s own timeline acts as source and reference point, further enabling precision when marking on form and space between and around her.

Deanna lee’s paintings draw a familiar line to the immediate surrounding and yet shifts the image to a linear character in a linear setting. Lines weave to create intricate objects at once formed by a skeletal system interwoven with nerves and muscle, while also creating an armored skin, and impenetrable surface of rigidity. This seemingly polarizing affect actually brings the viewer to a new space, one of the in-between. The space in-between subject and object. “The[se] clusters grow in an organic fashion and in relationship to lines I have already drawn. The resulting masses of line clusters evoke organic forms (like hair, muscles, and fungi), natural systems such as waves and wind currents, geological strata, and topographical maps.” Deanna’s attempt at understanding identity comes down to line and objects build by them, one-by-one. The developing mass of space and object forms a line for the viewer — a passage in which to sense line in place.

These drawings by Mitch Patrick take us to yet another variation of line and bridges this exhibition as the harvester of material almost predominately from online sources. The building of a system, like software code, existing in one form on the page, becomes an informal conversation in translation. Mitch is interested in, “drawings that account for evanescent media imbued experiences; an e-mail from a previous lover, an album by Harmonia, information in-between what is seen, my line of sight transposing over windows, the lack of periphery, anticipating liberation, and seemingly lost in an electric menagerie to wander in the midst of.” This cross-disciplinary relationship between the virtual and real represents some other form of dialogue in a line creating meaning through simultaneous interfaces. Mitch’s translation creates a new language built from common sources, yet transformed to something newly discovered.

Though approached differently, these artists have shown a commitment to and a fascination for line. Whether by obsession, or just in passing, each artist has dedicated a certain amount of time to further understand the movement from one point to another. As we travel through our own day — line in and line out — we may imagine space and time in our own vessel. The lines we create throughout our day. Now imagine the line drawn by your loved ones, by your neighbors, by your city. Line. Lines. Continuous, overlapping and everywhere.

what is art?
from the very earliest cave paintings to the most valued works in museums, art has been a part of communication throughout history.  art seeps into every aspect of our lives — fashion, film, photography, television, writing, architecture, music, marketing, etcetera.  from where we get our news and coffee in the morning, to where we dine and what we read, watch or listen to at night — everything has to do with art.  
 
all of these components can be broken down to basic elements of design and yet can incorporate the conceptual, intellectual, visceral and beyond.

art is — purpose.  energy.  voice.  activism.  art is not simply a way of expressing oneself, it is a means of life.  the artist doesn’t want to be an artist, the artist needs to be an artist.

art cannot be taught, however, a teacher can incite, motivate, and provide the tools the student needs to continue on his or her journey.  a teacher can nurture and guide, support and encourage.  a teacher can put art into context and make it relevant for the student.

art is not a pretty picture on a wall or a finished product that one can sell.  art is process and progress.  art is not simply imagination or creativity.  art is persistence, fortitude and patience.

what should an art program look like?
a successful program will ignite and energize the young artist and foster a learning practice that is adjacent to an intense studio practice.  

the art student is like a sponge and a sieve — absorbing and filtering at the same time.  it is most important to expose the young artist with material as well as give them the tools to harness their innate abilities.  fostering those abilities are specific to each student and is the goal of the art teacher.  without a understanding of the student the teacher is nothing.  without understanding the tool the student is useless.

students can be inspired.

with the proper tools and a setting for an cross-disciplinary practice, students can become confident in their materials and better understand their artistic goals.  business, economics, politics, writing, science and mathematics are all art.  the art student should be well versed and an art program should be welcoming to all areas of study.

tools are tools, instinct is instinct.  to know how to combine both may be contradictory but can also be invaluable to the artist.  to know how to use both may be the difference between yes and no.  success and defeat.  tools are good to have and can be learned.  instinct can never be learned.

trial and error will lead to piecing actions and ideas.  both will build a student of courage and conviction through curiosity and support.  the critical thinker will not only better understand their role as an artist, but they will better understand the choices they make on a daily basis.

silencing the over-stimulation of mass media and the over-consumption of a commercially-driven society are the stimuli for my work.  dichotomies of industry versus nature are predominant.  the duality of this constant struggle manifests itself throughout the studio — for a storm isn’t simply a storm, it is a cacophony and a symphony, it is devastation and beauty, violence and calm.  as unrelenting contradiction leaves its mark in the studio, the constants remain as light, rhythm and repetition.

my use of monochrome is directly attributed to avoiding the sensationalistic; rather, providing a respite for contemplation creating a visible cultural presence based on reiteration and reflection.  reductive monochromes reshape our awareness and move formally and minimally to create a language of nuance.  the magnitude of the silent informs the visualization of the minimal and reductive as all act as catalysts for creating the simplest form with the greatest breadth.  this language is at once descriptive yet transcends description.  the explanation comes from process and experience.

the process begins with an understanding and respect for a specific space.  history and memory inform what become newly constructed moments that tap into the unconscious.  texture, fragility and the fleeting all incorporate as attention is drawn to absurdity and the lack of meaning in objects and actions.  as parts become whole — the placement, lighting, and “empty space” that envelops are all integral to the intended experience.  my aggressiveness in asserting the minimal sets the stage for the contemplative and meditative.  these newly found spaces redefine the archetypes of our modern existence.

new appreciation shifts the meaning of objects and continues to redevelop the language of our surroundings, bearing in mind that it is not enough to simply bring the unnecessary or marginalized to a conscious level — a shift must come in the form of action against melancholy and its lackluster.  what is sustainable in life?  in practice?  what has the most efficacy with the least amount of impact?  to be sustainable we must look within ourselves.  by creating reductive, minimal, conceptual work rooted in process and space, i assert that awareness is born of meditation and instinct.

everything hums — the music of the air, the space between contradiction, the sound of light and the persistence of repetition.

in the vague subtleties, everything at once is... and isn't. 
 contradiction is inherent and almost as important as the hum of ambiguity.

it isn't necessarily important to understand intent, or even assume it.  it is more important to recognize that you are a part of it.
  this is the democratic and social element to the work.

why keep asking if there is always an answer?  
keep the learning forward, because it is only momentum forward that will continue the questions of tomorrow.

suppliment to artist statment:

specifically, governors island offers additional silence in this search.  its history and its transient present offers a unique vantage point to my practice.  whether through the commute, the peeling away of paint, or the assemblage of the island itself, the strong contrast to the neighboring islands offers a new experience.  the revelation comes in the nuances of the silent specific to this place — gaining validity from its past, strength from its present and  hope in its future.

introduction

transient landscape represents an investigation into our everyday — literally, the landscape that surrounds us and psychologically, the landscape of our mind. this “mindscape” is influenced by our physical surroundings the same as our perception of the physical landscape is influenced by our mind.

each of these artists approaches their imagery in a different way, but the subtle commonalities are surprising. whether in tone, accent, line, form or color, the artists represented here are challenging their surroundings by responding to them. by confronting that which may seem obvious, they begin to explore their own placement upon this landscape. this exhibit asks the same of its viewers.

the term “landscape” is used here to represent many forces. as metaphor, it can resemble our environment, the everyday, our life cycle, our internal struggles — . the essence of landscape also represents the idea of a constant. though we often move from space to space, our influence on place remains the same.

hays and hinrichsen may feel somewhat more attached to landscape as subject. though their images transcend the actual genre, we recognize them as such. cullinane, feaster and hubbard represent spaces more of form and abstraction, a visualization already in transcendence. and yet, bacon, choberka and fuqua bring forward object as landscape. pieces of the puzzle that connect our spaces — a to b and so on.

whatever the approach, much is asked of the viewer’s interpretation and participation as the spaces open up the mind through memory and familiarity in a dream-like way. the essence of landscape as executed is the transition from place to place. this journey is of utmost importance. the back and forth movement from here to there is truly what sets the boundaries of emotion and reality.

this back and forth helps define us as people and a society. it touches on our senses of desire and compassion. this exhibit represents a psychological journey constant in the unconscious of us all — lifting forward in our continuance and movement — in transience.

— text for visualizing governors island, a group exhibition on governors island produced by galleryELL.

i erect monuments, construct icons, unveil relics and immortalize the vestiges of an over-stimulated existence.

in this absurd contemporary moment the ordinary becomes extraordinary by bringing the unconscious to a visible, palpable form.  muted fragments crumble to scrap as assembled images demand attention by pulling the viewer into a quiet and meditative state.

approached thoughtfully, the neglected and the fleeting evolve to form meaning and elicit purpose.  it is the silent pulse of objects reflecting off a viewer that traverses the constraints of time and informs the scope of space.

the overlapping of industrial architecture and nature blurs the point of view and inspires my work.  by proceeding with concern for the environment and out of respect for our communities, the work reflects on the evolution of art with consideration for the future.  i create a visible cultural presence based on a reiteration and reflection on our existing surroundings.  monochromatic monoliths redefine our relationship to our environment and bring about a conversation of nature and sustainability.  texture, fragility and the fleeting all incorporate to form a monumental image by transforming relics into icons.  the images are constructed by assertively bringing the subtle to the forefront.  in this way the absurd post-industrial objects i create respond to their disposers.

in process, the newly formed, reductive images are shaped from re-purposed artwork, recycled material, and other discarded elements.  newly forged monuments tap into our unconscious.  the placement of each piece brings forth a meditation on memory and self while reflecting on sustainability and touching on the nuances of form.  this work draws attention to the absurdity and lack of meaning in objects, morals and actions, and redefines archetypes of our modern existence to evoke thought on our experiences.  the process of the creation of these works is reflective of the ultimate imagery and conceptual nature of the finished work.  as the work shifts more toward process and installation, it relies more heavily on the dialogue between one another and the spatial void in between.

it is a new appreciation and redefinition that shifts the meaning of objects and continues to redevelop the language of our surroundings, bearing in mind that it is not enough to simply bring the unnecessary (disposable) to a conscious level — a shift must come in the form of action against melancholy and its lackluster.  what is sustainable in life? in practice?  what has the most efficacy with the least amount of impact?  the essence of what is at stake is monumental.  to fully be sustainable we must look at ourselves, our resources, our futures.  by creating reductive, minimal, conceptual work rooted in process and space, i assert that awareness can be born of meditation and instinct.

download statement .pdf

the dialogue between industrial architecture and nature inspires this work.  reductive monochromes redefine relationships to our environment, shifting the focus to sustainability.  texture, fragility and the fleeting all incorporate to form a monumental image by finding visual relics and revealing their hidden power as icons to the vestiges of our over-stimulated existence.  these icons are unveiled by assertively bringing the subtle to the forefront.

this recent drawing series starts with the aqueous element.  the organic shape is then confined, restrained.  upon further study it is built on, unearthing the power of the relationships between the organic and inorganic -- nature and industry.  the specimens are categorized and grouped as the formation of rows and columns form building blocks.  elements.  these maps or aerial views transcend themselves and invoke the viewer to do the same.

newly found elements tap into our unconscious.  minimal imagery brings forth a meditation on memory and self while reflecting on sustainability and touching on the nuances of the formal.  by creating reductive, minimal, conceptual work rooted in process and space, i assert that awareness can be born of meditation and instinct.