popUp Gallery returns to the Bay Area art scene with an exciting new exhibition entitled – “Shadows”. This show features eight local artists whose work represents bold interpretations of the theme. Going well past literal depictions of light and shadow, the work leads viewers from shadows in nature and richly layered sculptures to mysterious abstracts and the precarious world of those who live in the shadows.
Opening reception is Friday August 14, 2015 during the 2nd Friday Estuary Art Walk in Alameda.
Participating Artists:
Carole Jeung – Photography
Artist Statement
I use photography as a way of keeping notes, to capture a thought as it occurs and to record a moment that I see. I photograph shadows, patterns, and textures as I come upon them, usually with my phone. When I catch my observations in this way, it feels like a fleeting moment becomes an eternal one.
It’s also a way of gathering evidence that these things exist in real life. I’m not interested in processing or manipulating the photographic image, so I do not crop or alter the image after the photo has been taken. My favorite cameras are instant ones, where the printed image is immediately in hand; there’s a collaboration between my eye and the camera that produces an image that is both direct and oftentimes surprising.
Danielle Gherardi – Ink and Mixed Media
Artists Statement
Is there a fine line between protection and confinement? Do the words “apron” and “cape” conjure gender? Can one form stand as a symbol for antithetical ideas? In the process of creating sculpture, drawing and collage, I attempt to balance self-posed questions such as these with strong intuitive impulses. A sculpture comes together for me in much the same way as a collage. I respond to certain materials or shapes, juxtaposing them until they suggest a new idea within a thematic framework. Drawings and collage provide a more immediate, experimental arena to play with ideas, both leading up to and being informed by the sculpture.
For many years I have explored themes of protection, confinement, and erosion of concrete boundaries through an often formalist, architectural language. More recently, this architectural language has “moved inside”, and expanded to domestic materials and symbols. This new sculpture is born of the easily accessible flotsam and jetsam of a household; broken furniture, stainless scrubbers, and heavy-duty foil become the basis for creating forms that more directly relate to the human body, its vulnerabilities and strengths.
Flora Davis – Sculpture
Artist Statement
Metal is my canvas. Like a Zen alchemist, I work the surface, creating patinas through the application of an eclectic mix of chemicals and compounds on copper, brass, aluminum and steel. Through multiple applications I strive to achieve an amazing range of patterns, textures and colors. My inspiration is nature: whether it is earthy and textural or lyrical and rhythmic. This combination of man-made and natural, results in a balance between strength and softness, nature and industry. My artistic process is an ongoing exploration of certainty, versus not knowing, controlling, versus letting go. Instead of relying on a sketch, I establish an intuitive connection with the materials as I work with them. This process allows ideas to gradually evolve and change, as the metal is cut, bent, shaped, and textured. It is an intimate process, both playful and challenging.
Gabriele Bungardt – Painting
Artist Statement
My paintings often depict the daily struggle that fills the lives of men and women across this country. Emotional interactions and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships are at the core of my work. The subtle nuances of body language convey many meanings, and it is this ambiguity that I find most interesting. Although I create my own stories, I prefer to leave viewers enough room to interpret the scenes from their point of view.
Kathryn Keller – Sculpture
Artist Statement
Like any accomplishment in life, I believe that how it is achieved is just as important as the achievement itself. So whenever I look at my art, not only do I appreciate the finished piece, but also the route I took to get there. Anytime I want to look back on the process of creating a given work of art, it’s all right there for me to recall and appreciate.
I am and have always been a painter. When I had the recent opportunity to explore sculpture in various media, a whole new world that I took to immediately opened up. To see my art in 3D. As an interior designer I had always drawn in 2D while visualizing the 3D, and here I had it in my hands. These metal sculptures came out of a prototype of a wall piece that was turned on it’s side at the end of one working day, and I saw “it”, the idea grew to the 7’ and above you see today. They are abstract and in that one can delight in the light and shadows, the hard and the soft, while at the same time visualize; trees, buildings, fog, water, etc., and it’s like.
Linda Colnett – Digital Art
Artist Statement
Growing up on the South Plains of Texas where a tree is a rare sight indeed, I developed a great respect and a good deal of awe upon encountering a tree. Much of my body of work has been devoted to images of trees. Versatility and experimentation have formed my work over the years. Utilizing paint, mixed media, sculpture and computer technology to create works, I have also developed large and smallscaled installations. Fascinated by texture, my work often assumes an organic quality. I am inspired by the general human condition, including issues related to ecology, spirituality, gender, race, cross-cultural connections, and geopolitical power struggles. Despite the seeming gravity of some of these subjects, I attempt to render my work in ways that invite interest through beauty and humor.
Mi’Chelle Fredrick – Drawing
Artist Statement
I am known, primarily, for my graphite drawings although I often work in watercolor and pastel, sometimes combining these mediums. My work is typically representational and highly detailed in character.
Most of my work is created in the additive process, using layers and layers of lines or color to build images. For the “Shadows” exhibition, I chose to work in the reductive or subtractive method, where much of the drawing is done with an eraser instead of a pencil. This method forces me to think not in terms of building an image with lines, but rather with values, pulling objects out of the background by identifying their highlights and shadows. I begin with a background “wash” of graphite powder on Dura-Lar, and the images are then lifted out of the background using erasers, adding and subtracting until the image emerges from the shadows.
Sirima Sataman – Wood Print
Artist Statement
Everything that exists along the ocean’s edge is affected by the conjunction of two vital forces – land and water. The stark portraits of gnarled trees along the edge of the northern California coast are iconic representations of relationships. Erosional forces are at work – creating similarities and differences. The absence of color accentuates the beauty of their sculptural form. Revealed is the essential nature and substance of wood worn away by the action of prevailing coastal winds, water, and sun.
popUp gallery at autobody fine art, 1517 Park Street, Alameda, CA 94501
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