Line, Space and Abstract Expression

Line, Space and Abstract Expression
Curated by Eric Murphy and Joyce Gordon
May 4 – May 26, 2012
Opening Reception: First Friday, May 4th, 6-9pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, May 12th 1-3pm

Joyce Gordon Gallery
406 14th St
Oakland, Ca. 94612
http://joycegordongallery.com/

Participating Artists-
B. Aliza, Pauletta Chanco, Tracy Ricks, Emily Weil

For more information please contact:
Curator: Eric Murphy eric.aioakland@gmail.com 
Gallery: 510.465.8928

Joyce Gordon Gallery and A.I. Oakland presents “Line, Space and Abstract Expression”, an excursion of four abstract painters finding a similar path along the elements of line, texture and plane; becoming voyagers of an alternative abstract expression. These biomorphic paintings all share a common thread of curvilinear lines
and divided spaces or planes as Kandinsky may as well refer to them; however each artist finds their own technique to understand their path regarding the natural. No matter the journey, all four painters utilize the same expression of abstraction; a distillation process of reducing the physical world to its most basic, essential nature so that visceral communication is possible with the viewer.

                                       


Barbara Aliza - Utilizing a variety of natural and acrylic materials, her work explores the complexity of surface, the beauty of imperfection and, ultimately, survival. Aliza’s collection of paintings are inspired by nature’s ability to re-assert itself to survive – a metaphor for our own individual survival. In this exhibit her most recent series – Provenance--emphasizes the transitory and impermanent essence of nature. A point of origin, or provenance, can be seen as a transition from one state to another – again, an affirmation of our individual survival.

                                    
Pauletta Chanco – After an inspirational trip to Death Valley with her husband in January, she started a new body of work that conveys the unique palette of this desert and its raw, stunning beauty and quietude. Time spent roaming and looking at the interconnection of geological forces to create a visual feast of color, shape and form in one place, encourages deep sensations of human vulnerabilities and our overall insignificance in the grand scheme of our existence.  In her current body of work “Sojourn in the Desert” (both oil on linen and her encaustic series), remains the abstracted leaf forms making their reappearance from a previous body of work known as “Clearing the Path for Practice:” Here, indeed, as with previous paintings, the leaves symbolize the vulnerabilities and the cluttering of the mind that lead us astray and away from liberation. The veils and atmospheric realms over the picture plane represent our various mental states both wholesome and unwholesome.


Tracy Ricks - is a self-skilled artist who currently resides in Silicon Valley.  A native Arizonian, Tracy’s first creative endeavor was displayed at an early age.  She has received training in Manual Architectural Drafting and Interior Design. This training allowed her to tap into her God-given talents and create pieces to complement her décor schemes.  From mirrors to masks, her environment slowly began to reflect her passion, culture and ultimately her purpose. This is most evident in her recent series; “What God Sees” in which her framed acylic on mirror paintings create a distorted colorful Paisely path in a Charrette fashion. At one point, the viewer may feel lost in a paradoxical journey around a showroom with Trompe L'oeil objects (via the reflection) that culminates into a simple but yet complex being in which God sees.

Emily Weil – This watercolor and mix media painter enjoys inhabiting The Zone — that inner creative space that likes to express itself without thinking about it. Weil dove into the watercolor palette and then worked into painting with pastel, charcoal and sometimes with a graphite crayon (a big, stubby pencil you can work into with water). Occasionally she works in a few spoons of dirt — especially if it's French!  In Line, Space and Abstract Expression, Weil’s paintings form a liquid dreamscape of color and space and bold black strokes, reminiscent of Japanese Sousho calligraphy mixed with colorful clouds disoriented by the troposphere as gravity takes hold of the watercolor; causing both the trance like state of mind and reality to experience the same dream.

Joyce Gordon Gallery is a commercial fine art gallery located in the downtown district of Oakland California. It exhibits art that reflects the social and cultural diversity of the Bay Area and international artists. The aim of the gallery is to respect the creative pursuits of the individual and seeks to make such work accessible to a broad audience.

Joyce Gordon Gallery  
406 14th St,
Oakland, CA 94612    
510-465-8928