Geo-Structure
Ryan Browning Mary Annella “Mimi” Frank Magnolia Laurie Bill Schmidt Jessica van Brakle Richard Vosseller Jowita Wyszomirska
THE SILBER ART GALLERY Goucher College Athenaeum
In things to be seen at once, much variety makes confusion, another vice of beauty. In things that are not seen at once, and have no respect one to another, great variety is commendable, provided this variety transgress not the rules of optics and geometry. Erwin Schrodinger
Christopher Wren
What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space.
In Geo-Structure, a new art exhibition at Goucher College, seven artists incorporate geometry and complex structure into simple visual forms to promote contemplation. The works by artists Ryan Browning, Mary Annella “Mimi� Frank, Magnolia Laurie, Bill Schmidt, Jessica van Brakle, Richard Vosseller, and Jowita Wyszomirska use repetition and architectural building blocks to comment on their surroundings and daily experiences.
Ryan Browning
Ryan Browning uses painting to suggest space and the actions and decisions of its creator over time. Browning’s paintings consider the nature of the contemporary landscape and how space and memories are felt in an increasingly layered, complex world. He draws from experiences and memories, both real and virtual, to generate the imagery in his works.
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Geo Necro, 2010 oil on canvas 48” x 54”
Mary Annella “Mimi” Frank Mary Annella “Mimi” Frank uses the geometry of chairs to explore familial relationships. A chair can be a powerful metaphor, a connection between people and the positions they occupy. Frank’s “constellation” of small welded steel chairs expands across space to illustrate the complexity of interpersonal connections.
Cassiopeia Dreams of Better Days, 2011 welded steel, installation dimensions variable
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Magnolia Laurie
I promise nothing complete, just the start of an idea, 2012 oil on canvas 22� x 24�
Magnolia Laurie’s paintings and installations show delicate and makeshift systems and structures that may not endure their own weight, let alone impending disruptions. Borrowing structural language that ranges from modern architecture to the dwellings of nomadic cultures, her work depicts the instinctive, sometimes-manic, and desperate act of building.
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Bill Schmidt Bill Schmidt’s roots as an artist are in traditional, observational painting. His works depict the sometimes-uneasy coexistence of the manmade and natural worlds. Schmidt prefers to begin each painting without a clear idea of the end product. His images—made from various combinations of gouache, ink, charcoal, and water-soluble crayons—encourage the viewer to make associations and arrive at a personal understanding that is likely to shift each time the work is considered.
Baffled, 2010 charcoal, gouache, ink, crayon on Arches paper 30” x 22”
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Jessica van Brakle
Jessica van Brakle’s work combines painting and drawing, mixing manmade structures with natural, organic elements to relate conflicting worlds that coexist in one psychological space. Stripped down to a skeletal level, the intricate geometric lines of construction cranes become symbols of power, growth, and the possible “paved paradise” of the 20th century.
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Deficient Weld, 2011 acrylic and ink on canvas 36” x 36”
Richard Vosseller
Study for Smoke, 2012 CAD Image after 3-D scan/digital print
Richard Vosseller often uses wood, sheetrock, and other residential construction materials for his sculptures, which he bases on the meter of poetry. In all of Vosseller’s projects, he endeavors to solidify his thoughts on failure. His recent foray into three-dimensional scanning has provided a fertile proving ground for this idea.
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Jowita Wyszomirska Jowita Wyszomirska’s site-specific wall drawings are dynamic arrays of geometry that navigate between random and chaotic. She employs a range of commonplace materials—masking tape, Tyvek, plastic, and wire—while hovering between two- and three-dimensional states. Intrigued by underlying cycles and ongoing changes in landscape where manmade and natural worlds intersect and override one another, her work reflects the web of complex relations.
Buoyant, 2012 mixed media, site specific installation dimensions variable
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Geo-Structure Ryan Browning Jessica van Brakle Mary Annella “Mimi” Frank Richard Vosseller Magnolia Laurie Jowita Wyszomirska Bill Schmidt
September 4 – October 7, 2012
ARTISTS’ RECEPTION Friday, September 21, 2012, 6-9 p.m. (artists’ talks at 7 p.m.)
THE SILBER GALLERY
Goucher College Athenaeum DIRECTIONS
GALLERY HOURS
Baltimore Beltway, I-695, to exit 27A. Make first left onto campus.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday – Sunday 410.337.6477
The Silber Gallery program is funded with the assistance of grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and the NEA, and the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts and Sciences.
www.goucher.edu/silber
13098-J1555
The Silber Gallery is free and open to the public.