Curated by Nadia Martinez
LOUDER THAN WORDS January 28 – February 17, 2017
Louder Than Words brings together an international team of artists from 12 countries who use different media to communicate their emotions, concerns, memories and ideas about life, nature, hope, decay, politics, world events, and humanity. The pieces contained in this exhibition speak for themselves, louder than any words that could describe them. In her quest to fully express herself, an Iranian artist's installation depicts how despite the circumstances, there is always hope. The triptych of an American artist shows us that no matter how much time passes, some news and memories are powerful enough to stay with us and inform the present by evolving into new forms. A Venezuelan artist in her installation reminds us that we are all pilgrims on this path that is life and that the spiritual pilgrimage can, even without words, allow the melody of the heart to move us. These works help us rethink who we are and find new ways to contemplate and understand our unique contributions to the world.
Nadia Martinez, curator
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Teresa Waterman Nomadic Geographies examines the challenging questions around the formation of boundaries, place, and home. It is a conceptual response to the ever-changing world filled with displaced people, communities, families, and nations. Abstraction expresses the "no place” that many encounter in new and unrecognizable spaces. The layering and flow of the medium represents the blurring of borders and uprooting change experienced by refugees. As a series, Nomadic Geographies embodies the exploration of the unknown.
Nomadic Geographies, 2016, Graphite on paper, 21.5” x 17” 4
Kakeru Asai There are two sides to every story. And there is a universe inside and outside of us. You can always access to one another.
Cosmic Mind IX, 2013, Mixed media, 36� x 22� 5
Touba Alipour This installation acknowledges "hope" and "resistance" as key components of survival in these dark political times. Hope is a powerful weapon of resistance and despite the hard times and circumstances there is always hope for a better outcome. So, I ask you to join me to stand tall and rise out of ashes of injustice, every time they try to burn us down and burry us.
"Out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come." - Barack Obama, 2004 -, 2016 Plaster, paint, charcoal, Site specific installation 6
Hazel Manheimer This series of paintings entitled “Can you buy a Rothko on Amazon?” marries the early abstract expressionist movement of the 1950’s with the mass-produced art market and consumerism of the 21st century. Superimposing the surface pattern of Amazon bar codes onto the surface of a series of Rothko-like blue paintings merges Rothko’s artistry with a symbol of mass production.
Can You Buy a Rothko on Amazon?, 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 96” 7
Sarah Tse The original artworks of these prints were pencil drawings and collages on portrait photography, and ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’ was also in the Ingram Collection at the Lightbox in the UK. Starting with a picture of a face, to which I apply seemingly random images (such as shisha, a naked lady’s leg, a vintage fan, etc.), according to the gesture, depth and shape of the features. Even though there can be more than 10 objects on the face, the facial expression of the portrait remains breathtaking. The way I juxtapose objects on a human face is an experiment for me to challenge the history and concept of portraiture and feminine sexuality in art history. After the collages were done, I also produce a pencil drawing identical to the collage. When both pieces are displayed together, one can feel the erotic ambience of both - through the colors from the collage and through the gestures and fragility of the pencil drawings.
Sweet Little 16, 2016, Aluminum print, Edition of 5, 24” x 16” 8
Micaela Kramer
This piece invites us to reflect upon the materiality of art, and to deconstruct the dichotomized construct of inside versus outside through the act of looking and photographing, as well as through the mixture and juxtaposition of contrasting types of material (interior design, upholstery fabric, and construction material such as gravel). The figure, who could be imagined and projected upon in myriad ways is, to me, an urban photographer who is looking at something through his camera, which is made of gravel. The piece thus plays with the notion that the instrument of vision and of registration becomes the very (urban) material it is registering, as well as the work of art it is creating. In effect, it gains the materiality of what it registers, and blurs the boundaries between art and construction. The title plays with the possibility that we, as viewers, are also taking a "shot" when we view the piece.
Shoot the Messenger, 2016, Upholstery fabric, gesso, acrylic, charcoal, pleather, gravel, 44� x 60� 9
Ghislaine Boreel This piece is part of a series in which I explore the juxtaposition of nature and civilization. I paint my marks onto the paper with found “ natural tools": parts of plants such as pinecones, rose petals, and pine needles. The majority of these were found on the ground in Central Park- so no trees or plants were damaged in the process- and the rose petals came from a bouquet. Imposing a grid upon the paper with different layers allowed me to create an urban plan, yet in the second and third works shown the florid marks strain at this confinement. It was important for me to have the marks read true to their source (ie. a rose petal mark should read as such) even though they have been imposed by me to keep the dialogue between nature and man-made going in this process where I search for substance beyond the post-modern era.
Rose petals and pine III, 2016, Ink and acrylic on paper, 14� x 10� 10
Esther Rosa As a Psychologist and as a person I believe one of the biggest issues we have to deal with in our daily life is to try to balance our wellbeing and mental health with our responsibilities, duties... To try to find our inner balance when things get tough, and we have worries, insecurities, failures... To keep our inner balance trying to accomplish everything, pleasing everyone, always doing our best, keeping up with all the numerous tasks that we have. I truly believe we are able to find happiness in life if we confront our lives with a positive thinking, accepting the ebb and flow of life, embracing our imperfections as part of our singularity. This installation made in resin represents the many things that tie us; so many that we don't really see them but they are present, beneath many layers. Those ties drive us in life but despite that, we need to remind ourselves how important it is to leave time just for us, time to think, to feel, to dream... to breath.
Loosen Up Your Ties, 2016, Resin and ink, Dimensions variable 11
Cecilia Nelson Various forms of folk art have profoundly influenced my work. During trips to West Africa, Indonesia, the Himalayas, California, British Columbia, Central Europe, and Sápmi in the northern part of my native country Sweden, I have been able to gain some knowledge on the transformational aspect of local art traditions. The focus of my work lies on trying to capture a presence. The hardest thing is to give up control and let the energy of the sculpture or painting seek you out. Using recycled materials, such as old newspapers and plastic bags, I want to engage in a dialogue with something that already has a history of its own. This piece is communicating with the human longing for protection against destructive forces, as seen in the tradition of having powerful beings watching over temples, churches and profane buildings all over the world. The Guardian of the Temple also has roots in the current political situation.
The Guardian of the Temple, 2016, Recycled paper, masking tape, tracing paper, 10” x 5” x 9” Photographs, 8” x 10” and 11” x 14” 12
Michele Rave Grassani These Polaroids, shot in different days in the 2016's summer in Italy; are a usual day’s routine of Grace, my Granny, and her dog Jackie. Showing their relationship and companionship through simple gestures like play, feeding, a walk.
Grace & Jackie, 2016, 8 Polaroids, 4.5” x 3.8” each 13
Poramit Thantapalit This tranquil modular landscape is created by the complexity of perspective, geometric shapes with sharp angles, needle points of the wire and texture of fabric give it almost a hairy look. They are the elements that move around against the beams of light. The direction of light plays a role in how we perceive the illuminated landscape from the serene lines, shapes and forms of cast shadow on the backdrop.
Modular Maneuver, 2017, Upcycled clothing and wire, Site specific installation 14
Osmeli Delgado
The pilgrimage is a trip to a sanctuary or holy place with a religious connotation. It is an almost universal phenomenon of religious anthropology; the pilgrim finds the supernatural in a precise place. From the beginning man has had the need to find enlightenment, the liberation of his soul or complete well-being in a special, secluded or different place. In many theories and even religions it has been said that this sacred place is inside us and in a world with so many distractions it becomes more difficult to find this place. We are all pilgrims on this path that is life, but the spiritual pilgrimage is a personal way, often absent from words, it is an authentic path that develops as we allow the melody of the heart to move us. This installation consists of 120 cores in plaster that will be located in an area of approximately 7’6� high by 7’ high wall, each one of them will be connected from its arteries by red threads forming an ascending weft until they reach the roof. The interlacing made up of the red threads represents the encounters that we constantly have in our lives, which are nourishing our learning and that as we go giving we realize ourselves, we discover ourselves. This ascending or evolutionary process manifests itself in different ways in our lives but it is a process that we inevitably live as we relax to the rhythm of constant movement and change of life.
The Pilgrimage, 2017, Plaster and thread, Site specific installation 15
Dennis Bourke
Nature's struggle against industry, carbon emissions, global warming.
Tar-Landscape II, 2016, Tar and pigmented print on canvas, 72� x 60� x 2" 16
Kathryn Cameron
Through a journey in the ephemeral nature of all things, I explore the subtle manipulation of the materials. In this process, all the secrets that lie within the structures reveal fascination and surprise. I investigate how the rich textures of our earth’s surface are translated by the natural elements of paper and metal and how the energy of ordinary objects can be altered into new states of being. This interaction between the materials facilitates a deep connection with our environment, indicating a small path in order to try to understand ourselves. My work is about transformation and the one fundamental: change.
Stolen Moments, 2016, Abaca, rust, steel wire, thread, Dimensions variable 17
Michelle Bratsafolis We the People is a statement about how our diversity as a nation is not a threat to who we are, but makes us who we are. Embracing our differences and recognizing that cooperation is grounded in appreciation for multiple viewpoints and varied backgrounds is vital to promote a meaningful exchange of ideas, and to support actions that preserve our country’s core ideals of freedom, civil liberty and equality.
We the People, 2017, Cyanotype on silk organza, Dimensions variable 18
Monika Camillucci My work is primarily informed by my strong bond with nature. Whether working from direct observation or abstracting from memory and imagination, my interest is not in realistic rendering, but conveying some quintessential quality or truth about my subject. This is one of a series of three dimensional drawings, in which I use wire to describe line, volume and space.
Meteorite, 2015, Wire, 22� diameter 19
Walter Brown DEATH SONATA A WASTED LIFE (oil on canvas with black frame, 2005). The person depicted in this image was someone I never knew personally. He was the subject of a TV news story during the war in Afghanistan, about a soldier that was killed. He was lauded as an exceptional individual with everything to live for. His death struck as senseless and tragic. DISINTEGRATION (plastic bags, acrylic paint, 2016). Years later I used the painting A WASTED LIFE (First image) as a rough guide in the creation of a face with plastic bags and acrylic paint. The depiction is more abstract and less defined, consistent with a disintegrating body that the soul has left behind. TRANSFIGURATION (aluminum, acrylic paint, 2016). This image, created in tandem with DISINTEGRATION (second image), depicts the continued decomposition of the dead body. At the same time, another process has begun, one of transformation into an archeological/historical structure with a spiritual tinge.
Third Movement: Transfiguration, 2016, Aluminum foil, acrylic paint, 32" x 30" 20
Curated by Nadia Martinez, Ms. Martinez is an artist and an emerging curator who has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in individual and group exhibitions at Zorya Fine Art, Greenwich; National Academy Museum, New York; ArtLima, Lima, Peru; Pinta Art Fair, New York; 4uattro Pareti Galleria, Napoli, Italy among others. Ms. Martinez is currently on the faculty of the National Academy School where she teaches sculpture and her website can be found at www.nadiamartinez.com
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