Deborah Zlotsky IT HAPPENED
,
BU T NOT TO YOU
D e b o r a, h Z l o t s k y
IT HAPPENED
BU T NOT TO YOU
S eptember 11 th – October 11 th , 2014 5 2 9 W. 2 0 t h S t , S t e . 6 W N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 1 1
Cimabue and Giotto in Assisi, 2014 Oil on canvas 60 x 72 inches
Sonetto, 2014 Oil on canvas 48 x 48 inches
Kathryn Markel Fine Arts is pleased to present
I T H A P P EN ED , B U T N O T T O YO U Â a collection of new paintings by New York-based abstract painter
Deborah Zlotsky
Mermaid Thoughts, 2014 Oil on canvas 60 x 72 inches
Tulips and chimneys, 2014 Oil on canvas 60 x 72 inches
Naughty varlet, 2014 Oil on canvas 48 x 48 inches
In Deborah Zlotsky's paintings, forms occupy a charged space that has been worked over and over again. Amid geometric cubes and cylinders, soft, organic forms emerge. A tube exits a quadrilateral shape only to disappear into the background. Shapes recede, project, and hover in ambiguous spaces. It’s easy to lose ones’ bearings — are we above or below these shapes or both at once? Zlotsky plays with our assumptions about these forms. Some may appear solid, others hollow. Still others appear as open boxes, flaps out, or cubes stacked on top of one another. Our perspective is constantly challenged. Bold, unexpected colors punctuate the work and contribute to the dynamic space. In each torqued rectangle, another moment is revealed. Hints of underpainting, opaque planes and ghostly forms reveal histories of reversals and change: the paintings become documents of accidents and revisions. Drips and smears also mark time, leaving a visible trace of the artist’s hand. Zlotsky likens her paintings to chronotopes, a termed coined by philosopher and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin. His definition readily applies to Zlotsky's latest work: “Time, as it were, thickens, takes on flesh, becomes artistically visible; likewise, space becomes charged and responsive to the movements of time, plot and history.” The paintings seem to have no beginning or end, with idiosyncratic forms flowing between flat and more dimensional space. Zlotsky draws us into a world where everything is connected. Essay by Amy Griffin
A tricky subject, 2014 Oil on canvas 48 x 48 inches
The inundation, 2014 Oil on canvas 48 x 48 inches
Pittsburgh left, 2014 Oil on canvas 72 x 60 inches
Deborah Zlotsky's new work was supported by generous grants from the Bemis Center for Contemporar y Art and the Rhode Island School of Design.
EDUCATION 1989 MFA, Painting and Drawing, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 1985 BA, History of Art, Yale University, New Haven, CT SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2014 It happened, but not to you, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY 2013 Or something like it, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA LifeLike, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Barbara, CA Being Impossible, Foreman Gallery, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY 2012 Being Impossible, Wilson Gallery, LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY 2011 Adjacent Possibilities, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY 2006 Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT 2005 Deborah Zlotsky: Paintings Fort, Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN 2004 Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY 2003 Richmond Gallery, Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, CT 2001 Albany Center Galleries, Albany, NY Crealde School of Art, Winter Park, FL Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA 2000 ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2014 Color As Structure, McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY PIEROGI XX: Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY Real Beauty, Hemphill Gallery-Carroll Square Gallery, Washington, DC Aloe Vera, Gray Contemporary, Houston, TX Big Fat and Juicy, Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY abstract, Marcia Woods Gallery, Atlanta, GA REVERB 2: Recent Abstract Painting, Fine Arts Center Gallery, Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH Intrusions, School of Art Gallery, Pratt/MWP, Utica, NY Pre-cognition, Patchogue Art Center, Patchogue, NY 2013 UNHINGED, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Reverb: Recent Abstract Painting, University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art, Cedar Falls, IA Artist of the Week, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY An Armory Show, Opalka Gallery, Sage College, Albany, NY MARK, Islip Art Museum, Islip, NY Mohawk Hudson Regional Exhibition, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY, Orange County Museum of Art Fence Select, Art Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (continued) 2012 Falling through Space/Drawn by the Line, Anderson Gallery, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State, Guatemala City, Guatemala Natural/Constructed Spaces, The Painting Center, New York, NY Grey Matters, Albany International Airport, Albany, NY New Directions, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY 2011 NURTUREart Benefit, NURTUREart Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Summer Group Show, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY Viceral, Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY Adaptations, Lapham Gallery, Glens Falls, NY Drawing Discourse: Contemporary Drawing, Cooke Gallery, University of North Carolina, Asheville, NC Summer Art Faculty Exhibition, Case Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Fence Select, Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY 2010 Artist of the Week, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Mohawk Hudson Regional, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY Fence Select, Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY, Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Drawing Discourse: Contemporary Drawing, Cooke Gallery, Department of Art, University of North Carolina, Asheville, NC Organic Abstraction, Briarcliffe College Gallery, Bethpage, NY 2009 Exquisite Corpse, Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 10th Anniversary Exhibition: Boston Drawing Project, Carroll and Sons, Boston, MA Wonderland, Cazenovia College Art Gallery, Cazenovia, NY Illusions, Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY 2008 Mohawk Hudson Regional Exhibition, Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY Locally Grown, Albany International Airport, Albany, NY Cultural Corridor, Storefront Artists’ Project, Pittsfield, MA
TEACHING 2013-Present Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 1996-2013 The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY 1989-1996 University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 1996-2013 The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY 1989-1996 University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
VISITING ARTIST School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, IN Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY Union College, Schenectady, NY Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, NY Hope College, Hope, MI Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA Crealde School of Art, Winter Park, FL Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, CT University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, NY GRANTS 2014 Professional Development Grant, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 2012 Scholars and Artists Grant, College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY 2011 Strategic Opportunity Stipend, New York Foundation for the Arts 2010 NYFA MARK 10, New York Foundation for the Arts John Hartigan Memorial Scholarship, Ox-Bow Residency, Saugatuck, MI Sabbatical Leave Grant (Academic year 2010-11), College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY 2009 Scholars and Artists Grant, College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY 2007 Special Opportunity Stipend, New York Foundation for the Arts 2006 Scholars and Artists Grant, College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY 2001 Friend’s Fellowship, Artist Residency, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
RESIDENCIES 2014 Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE 2012 Kimmel-Harding-Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE 2011 Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA 2010 Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, MI 2008 Weir Farm Art Center, Wilton, CT 2007 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA 2006 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA 2005 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA 2004 Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY 2003 Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, CT 2002 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA 2001 Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL 1998 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA 1997 Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY 1996 Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL 1995 Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY Eastern Oregon State University, La Grande, Oregon Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, CT Nebraska-Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE New York Palace Hotel, New York, NY Nordstrom, Beverly Hills, CA Progressive Insurance Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX University of Iowa Health Center, Iowa City, IA University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “Beyond the Surface,” Metroland. November 11-17, 1999. “Paintings Show Search for Meaning,” Lincoln Journal Star. August 29, 1999. Bjornland, Karen. “Another captivating art exhibit lands at airport’s gallery,” The Daily Gazette. November 6, 2003. Bjornland, Karen. “Book Portraits,” The Sunday Gazette. January 5, 2003. Brickman, David. “Next Time, With Feeling,” Metroland. August, 2005. Brickman, David. “Topsy-Turvy,” Metroland. January 9, 2003. Cahill, Tim. “Deborah Zlotsky,” Times-Union. December 15, 2000. Cahill, Tim. “Portraits and portholes, both sublime,” Times-Union. January 26, 2003. Dabkowski, Colin. “UB exhibition samples new takes on drawing,” The Buffalo News. October 12, 2012. Jaeger, William. “Complementary Work,” Times-Union. December 17, 2000. Jaeger, William. “Purposeful Ambiguity,” Times-Union. November 14, 1999. Kane, Tim. “Drawing Its Own Art at Tang,” Times Union. December 17, 2006. Kane, Tim. “Well-known artists the highlight of this year's uneven MohawkHudson Regional,” Times-Union. October 31, 2010. Shepard, Rebecca. “Brushes With Greatness,” Metroland. June 12-18, 2003. Woodard, Josef. “Between a Bone and an Abstract Place,” Santa Barbara Press, Scene Magazine. September 6, 2013.
AWARDS 2013 Finalist, Rutsch Award for Painting, Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY Juror’s Award, Mohawk Hudson Regional Exhibition, curated by Dan Cameron, Chief Curator, Orange County Museum of Art Visual Art Award, Dave Bown Projects, curated by Marisa J. Pascucci, Curator of 20th Century & Contemporary Art at the Boca Raton Museum of Art; Reto Thüring, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art; and Adelina Vlas, Assistant Curator for Modern & Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art 2012 New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Artists’ Fellowship in Painting Finalist, Rome Prize in Visual Arts, American Academy in Rome First Place Award, New Directions, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY Curated by Susan Cross, Curator, Mass MoCA 2010 Juror’s Award, Mohawk Hudson Regional, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY Curated by Charles Desmarais, Deputy Director of the Brooklyn Museum Juror’s Award, Fence Show. Arts Center for the Capital Region, Troy, NY Curated by Ian Berry, Associate Director and Curator at the Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY
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