Multitude- an exhibition of drawings by Peter Hamlin, Sarah Morejohn and Jessica Maffia

M U L T I T U D E Drawings by Peter Hamlin, Jessica Maffia and Sarah Morejohn

September 17 – October 29, 2016

KENISE BARNES FINE ART 1947 Palmer Avenue Larchmont, New York 10538 www.kbfa.com (914) 834-8077

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Peter Hamlin, Nanoscape (detail) On the cover:

Peter Hamlin, Nanoscape, 2015 acrylic ink on Arches paper 62 x 34 inches (unframed) $5500. (unframed)

MULTITUDE COLORED PENCIL AND INK DRAWINGS BY PETER HAMLIN, JESSICA MAFFIA AND SARAH MOREJOHN Kenise Barnes Fine Art is pleased to open the fall season with an exhibition of extraordinary drawings by artists Peter Hamlin, Jessica Maffia and Sarah Morejohn. The exhibition is titled Multitude and reflects the numerous and complex systems of small hand-drawn marks that each artist uses to build relationships and compositions. The practice of drawing is often described as meditative, intuitive and intellectual. Morejohn’s and Maffia’s artwork embody those traits and have in common a dedication to beauty and close observation of the natural world.

Multitude is Jessica Maffia’s debut exhibition with the gallery. She is a native New Yorker whose work is characterized by obsessive, detailed mark-making. Maffia is dedicated to the discovery of beauty in unexpected places, and to revealing the extraordinary in the insignificant or unnoticed. She observes that under a microscope a droplet of water from the Atlantic contains an astonishing universe of creatures, plant life and dried sea salt; these exquisitely complex compositions inspire her some drawings in this show. Other work focuses on a cosmological scale; intimate relationships of particles and the solar system are worlds in which every shape begets an entire universe. Maffia’s meticulous process and her extreme attention to detail and to small, repetitive motions are intrinsic parts of her process and the driving force behind the work.

Nature’s propensity towards patterns is reflected in Sarah Morejohn’s exquisite colored pencil drawings. The intricate spectacle of a cluster of dots evoke near endless associations: murmurations, constellations, bacteria, landmasses, a small, spiraling shell found on a beach. Multitude includes three large drawings in the Dandelion Tree series that were specifically inspired by the circular arrangement of petals and stamens of flowering blossoms and mathematical models of branching. Morejohn's drawing practice has led her to find a common ground between the poetic and scientific. Her drawings communicate different possibilities of life, and emotions such as tenderness and longing.

This is Peter Hamlin’s first exhibition since earning his MFA this past spring. Blurring the boundaries between the artificial and the organic, the nefarious, benevolent and benign, Hamlin constructs environments where nanopeople, robots, cyborg plants and curious synthetic organisms live their lives. Hamlin uses his highly refine drawing skills in a masterful story-telling style combining mythological, art historical and decorative art references. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn.

Peter Hamlin Exchanging Potentials, 2016 acrylic ink on Arches paper 30 x 30 inches (unframed) $3000. (unframed)

Peter Hamlin, AI Landscape, 2015, acrylic ink on Arches paper, 22 x 15 inches (unframed), $1800. (unframed)

Peter Hamlin, Untitled, 2013, acrylic ink on Arches paper, 18 x 18 inches (unframed), $1800. (unframed)

PETER HAMLIN Envisioning the future, where technology will be indistinguishable from life, Peter Hamlin uses visual forms of painting, drawing, printmaking and objects informed by elements of storytelling and myth-making. Compositions blend fantasy and science as the spaces breathe with awareness in vibrant, synthetic colors, layers, and delineated systems.

Blurring the boundaries between the artificial and organic, the nefarious, benevolent, and benign, Peter constructs environments where nanopeople, robots, cyborg plants, and curious synthetic organisms live their lives. Humor and playfulness hybridize in these spaces where multiple outcomes to this destiny manifest through color, pattern and line.

As technologies are radically changing how humans experience the world, Peter's work creates a place for exploration of how we adapt as a species, determine our future, and prepare for what's to come.

Peter lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Sarah Morejohn Broken Dandelion Tree, 2016 ink and colored pencil on paper 30 x 22 inches $1500. (framed)

Sarah Morejohn Cracked Dandelion Tree, 2016 ink and colored pencil on paper 30 x 22 inches $1500. (framed)

SARAH MOREJOHN Sarah Morejohn’s work explores the poetics of physics found in patterns in nature.

Dandelion Tree was inspired by the circular arrangement of petals and stamens of flowering blossoms and mathematical models of branching. Morejohn’s drawing practice has led her to a common ground between the poetic and the scientific.

Sarah Morejohn Torn Dandelion Tree, 2016 ink and colored pencil on paper 30 x 22 inches $1500. (framed)

Jessica Maffia, Celestial Sea 1, 2016, ink and colored pencil on paper, 30 x 44 inches, $5000. (framed)

Jessica Maffia Celestial Sea 2, 2016 ink and colored pencil on paper 30 x 22 inches, $2700. (framed)

JESSICA MAFFIA

STATEMENT

My work is characterized by obsessively detailed mark-making. I use the finest of media- pencils or pens- to cover huge surfaces. The act of paying such extreme attention to detail and the small, repetitive motions are intrinsic parts of my process and the driving force behind my work. This show brings together drawings from three different series, all of which embody that meticulous process.

For years my work has been about careful observation and the discovery of beauty in unexpected places through explorations of scale. I love to reveal the extraordinary in the insignificant or unnoticed. Towards this end, I have been looking at the natural world through a microscope. A droplet of water from the Atlantic contains an astonishing universe of creatures and plant-life. After looking for hours at plankton, the salt water droplets evaporate and the dried sea salt remains in exquisitely complex compositions. Salt 1 is a study of one such composition. I am drawn to its surprising cartographic quality as well as the delightfully dynamic variety of the salt formations.

Some work emerges suddenly, without warning, and retreats the same way. So it was with the Meditations series. For years my artistic process had involved careful forethought, mapping, observation from life, and tight control. Meditations was a complete departure. Organic and spontaneous, this series arose in the winter of 2014 during a period of extreme duress and lasted for one year. It is simply about process: the act of repetition and its offering of relief. Meditations 1 is part of a series of over 50 drawings.

Currently I am working on a series from the imagination that plays with both cellular and cosmological scales. Celestial Sea 1 and 2 are part of this series of colored pencil drawings that explore the intimate relationships of particles and the solar systems they hold within themselves and between each other; they are worlds in which every shape begets a whole universe. I create these works in pursuit of a kind of whimsical freedom.

Jessica Maffia, Salt 1, 2016, ink and colored pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches, $2700. (framed)

Jessica Maffia, Meditations 1, 2016, ink and colored pencil on paper, 30 x 44 inches, $5000. (framed)

Kenise Barnes Fine Art was founded in 1994 on the belief that art is essential.

We are a fine art gallery and art consulting firm that represents emerging and mid-career investment-quality artists. Our exhibition program includes over forty artists working in a variety of mediums. We organize more than twenty solo exhibitions and conceptdriven group shows each year in our two spacious galleries. We collaborate with architects, design professionals, the hospitality industry and individuals to help build meaningful art collections.

History Founded in 1994, the gallery has had three locations in beautiful Larchmont, New York. In 2013, after thirteen years in 1955 Palmer Avenue, we moved a short hop down the street to a newly renovated gallery space located at 1947 Palmer Avenue.

Occupying 2600 square feet, we have two gallery rooms for exhibition programming, a project space, a private presentation room and a large on-site warehouse.

Director and owner Kenise Barnes has degrees in Fine Art and in Women’s Studies. She gained early experience as the specialist in charge of contemporary art at Christie’s East. With more than 20 years experience in the arts, Kenise is a gallery director, independent curator, exhibition juror and art advisor.

Our client list includes New York University/Langone Medical Center, Bank of America Art Program, Pfizer Corporation, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers, Montefiore Medical Center, Citibank Art advisory, Vicente Wolf Associates, and numerous private collectors, architects and interior designers worldwide.

We are pleased to partner with online platforms 1st Dibs and Houzz.

K E N I S E B A R N E S F I N E A R T 1947 PALMER AVENUE LARCHMONT, NEW YORK 10538 WWW.KBFA.COM