16 minute read
A Show of Heads
JWG Killer Clown 5000 Flathead Pins in Canvas 14” x 11”
My own philosophy remains in flux, fueling my ideology with forward momentum. I use traditional and mixed media visualizations to communicate my want for knowledge. Often you can find me exploring mental inscapes wrought with human complexity. I celebrate adaptive organic form for its strength and beauty especially when it is horrifying. My newest series, Our First Home, delves into the makeup of physiological chemistry: Can my trauma be absorbed and affect my child’s emotional development during pregnancy? Is it possible for personal suffering to create mutations for generations to come; thereby is oppression inherited? With ancestral transference, are we making a martyr or monster, feeling triumph or trauma, or are we living a life of enlightenment or entitlement? Conceivably, we as a people cannot eradicate racism because it’s too soon in the ancestral mutation to foster that level of positive progression. Perhaps even lack of remorse and the instability of a murderous instinct can be linked to under evolved mutation. So, what did you inherit?
Advertisement
Jennifer Michele Sandholm jennifermichele.myportfolio.com Instagram: @jms_galleries
Francisco 12” x 15” Oil on muslin
Catherine Meehan cmeehan.mfa@gmail.com
Stay-at-Home 2020 24” x 18” Oil on canvas
I have been inspired by the pandemic, how wearing masks, stayat-home order, and social distancing have dramatically changed our lives. This piece represents the psychological and social challenges during the Covid-19. It brings awareness of its effects on our mental health by being isolated from the stay-at-home order. Also, it makes us think that we can take actions to prevent, step up, and fight against the problems.
Vesna Komarica facebook.com/vesnakomarica.art
Janet 11” x 17” Acrylic on muslin
Fred Nocella fred-nocella.com
Gale Hart galehart.com
As a child I was fascinated with creating objects out of nuts, bolts, scrap metal and wood. This evolved into an intense creative drive. I began my career with a passion to compile components into a whole. From monumental canvases to meticulous graphite drawings, I visually engage and speak about universal humanity. My sculpture parallels my paintings while keeping the visual language constant: narrative composition, ordered geometry, color choices and experimentation with scale.
Unidentified 12” x 8” x 6” Bronze
Stephen Goldberg SteplinArtworks.com
I am a stone sculptor based in Baltimore, Maryland. I work with natural stone and, using traditional carving techniques and tools, shape and carve the stone into one-of-a-kind stone sculptures. My sculptures are a mixture of contemporary designs, each handcrafted based on the unique natural elegance, durability and appearance of the stone. I use alabaster, limestone, marble and soapstone to create different textures, shapes and designs. The sculpture Alien at Rest, which is featured in the exhibit, is a mythical alien creature resting on outstretched human hands. The stone is a delicate multi-shaded brown alabaster with white crystal veins.
Alien at Rest 12” x 7” Alabaster
Four Faces 24” x 11” x 4.5” Butternut
Tree holes provide a great medium for creativity and also provide a habitat for wildlife. I use only the tree holes from downed trees. The pieces I find are saved from rotting away. My work is part me and part Mother Nature blended together to create a unique functional art form.
John Starinovich holesinthewoods.com
Self Portrait in Hell Acrylic on canvas 60” x 48” inches
My work explores childhood, mental health, the complexity and cooperation of opposites, and how simultaneously ecstatic and hellish it is to be alive.
Richard Yu-Tang Lee richardlee.art
These shape shifters have been documented holding passionate conversations with opossums and rats, and the mother is noted to have earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Magical Arts through a respected online institution. If you see them, walk the other way quickly but calmly.
Greg McLemore gregmclemoreart.com
Mysteries of Baltimore I Oil on paper 22” x 30”
State of Mind 21.5” x 13” x 11” Ceramic
My creative process is based on working intuitively from feelings, memories and my imagination. I usually work in a series which can lead me into extensive exploration of an idea and form. Form is an essential element in my work. My secondary focus is to develop different types of surfaces that will enhance and support the form. I have explored surfaces by continuous testing of ceramic materials and kiln firings. Marilyn Richeda marilynricheda.com
Bobby Snell robertsnell.myportfolio.com
I was driven to create SelfPortrait of a Lonely Summer in response to a deep internal conflict. There was a summer I spent completely alone, leading to the surfacing of a lot of troubled thoughts and I found myself very angry and confused. This piece was a form release, created as a therapy to slow my mind and work through the chaos of emotion--I needed to clear my head. I used the fluid medium of water and ink to represent my clouded mind. Once the ideas poured onto the page and I used pen to define the final realization.
Self-Portrait of a Lonely Summer Ink wash and pen on paper 13” x 19”
William T. Ayton ayton.net
This piece is from a series I did in response to the pandemic, whilst in semilockdown. We are now caught in a perfect storm, between the virus, the raging fires, multifaceted political unrest, and who knows what else. But, at least we are all in this together.
(We Are All) Caught in the Storm” 16” x 12” Acrylic on board
My work centers around the human search for authenticity, and belonging. The question of modern identity, or where we are truly at home when much of our ancestral culture may have dissolved, been actively destroyed, or is one in which we do not wish to be a part. The same holds true for the environment, and Atlas 14” x 11” x 10” Stoneware clay
the modern problem of being disconnected from the land, as well as wild creatures, which can create a kind of ‘hole’ in our identity. My work reflects my personal experiences around these issues
Asia Mathis asiamathisart.com
The herd mentality is a selfish one, meant to position oneself for survival at the expense of other members of the community. We are seeing this play out right now in the United States with a raging, unabated pandemic dragging on for months because of a lack of federal response. Claims of fake news, a hoax!, or that the virus magically will disappear, have all undermined how states and doctors have been able to react to a sometimes skeptical public. This is class warfare at its most vile and heinous. A note on skulls: All deer skulls were gathered in the woods, along streams, and railroad tracks in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The human skull is a replica.
The Gathering of the Selfish Herd Digital photography 11” x 14”
Les Trois 8 16” x 8” x 20” Cockeysville marble
Les Trois 8 is named after a bistrot / bar in Paris. My son Gavin loved working there. Sadly it has closed due to pandemic restrictions. I made Les Trois 8 out of Cockeysville Marble as an interpretation of their logo. I never got to deliver and collect my pay (beer ) .... C’est la vie.
Earl Elliott earlelliottsculpture.com
45.12 Graphite, oil, inkjet ink on Duralar on copy of birth certificate, push pins on wood 12” x 9”
While toweling water off my face, I felt a small, spark-like sensation in my forehead. I didn’t think much of it at the time. However, the “sparks” became more intense. Over the course of a week they became more painful and more pronounced. What began as a small “spark” became, at times, an instant sensation that threw me to the ground, afraid to touch my face out of fear that I could make it worse. I screamed uncontrollably. I prayed the pain would subside so that I could live one more day. I would describe it as a lightning bolt festering in my head for one, very long moment, countless times a day. To put it in words belittled its painful visits to my head. It afflicted me seasonally and I never knew when the season would begin or end. I was finally, successfully, diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. It is referred to as “the suicide disease.” It has been listed as among the most painful conditions known to human-kind.
Karl Gustav Kroeppler kroeppler.weebly.com
Larissa Barnat larissabarnat.com
Using gradients and blending of organic shapes with neon colors, I create bright but depressing paintings. Bold colors evoke a futuristic presence with a sense of hopelessness. My experiences as a youth and adolescent have profoundly influenced the imagery that permeates my artwork. When I was young, only six years old, I fell off a swing face-first onto bricks and stones. My black eye was closed shut for a month, it permanently affected my vision. I would sit at home and compulsively pick out stone pieces and peel scabs until it bled and scarred. The bruises would change colors of deeply saturated yellow, green, and violet. I refused to have anyone see me and even wore sunglasses indoors.
Black Eye Oil on canvas 34” x 44”
Vincenzo Corrado vincentcorrado.carbonmade.com
I tried to represent in this drawing, a character from other worlds that I wish existed in interstellar reality. He is just one of the inhabitants of a distant planet where they still survive today, beings certainly strange but at the same time reassuring because they are good and eager to transmit sparkling positive energies, even if trapped in a technological mask able to protect them from radioactive waste. Distraction caused by an unexpected event can cause a smile. But if this happens also in an interplanetary and imaginative context, perhaps it could push us to make some reflections. All evolved living beings have a sense of humor. The question is whether this characteristic is only exclusive to the man who lives on planet earth or is a universal gift.
Radio Source 3555 x 2391px Digital
Star Dust I Graphite and Mixed Media on Arches Paper 30” x 22”
Through exploration and discovery the unknown reveals itself a little more. It is this spirit of discovery that takes the series of works titled Star Dust beyond that which is conventional and stereotypical. As an artist I endeavour to find new ways of seeing and search for an understanding of the complex structures that exist within inner and outer worlds. This basic order is an essential part of nature and the cosmos. Star Dust visibly takes the world to pieces and builds it up from the inside, revealing a glimpse into the complexity of nature and the cosmos at a molecular level. I’m always searching for the universal beauty hidden in everything around us and the profound connections that imbue our lives with meaning. Subconscious imagery plays an important part in my creative process, where infinite possibilities emerge within the fluid spaces between reality and imagination.
Louisa Antico louisaantico.com
Contemptuous Bloom 20” x 16” Oil on panel
The painting titled Contemptuous Bloom directly addresses the lineage of fear, hatred, violence and perversion. An evil mind that reproduces itself by recreating the same conditions that created it. I love to make works that are raw, detailed and not filtered through anyone’s good taste or sophistication. The truth can be blinding without our cultural sunglasses, but it is worth trying to see.
Timothy French wowxwow.com/artist-profile/tim-french-ap
My art work is a reflection of my quest to recognize the truth behind the veil of civility. I seek to unmask what is presented outwardly, and reveal humanity in direct conflict with its own cultural constructs. Through my work, I choose to examine a world where people, me included, are flawed. Blue Honey 16” x 20” Oil on board
Are You Texting What She Just Said? Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood 76”h x 48”w x 24”d area
For years I’ve been trying to determine what defines two-dimensional art. My drawings range from the intimate, to full scale conceptual installations. The materials are mostly flat surfaces: plywood, Plexiglas, and paper, yet they inhabit three-dimensional space. My large work that can be mounted on a wall can also be mounted in the middle of a room. Although it occupies a space usually reserved for sculpture, the work is still only a flat, two-dimensional surface. I know the illusion of dimension is successful when I hear back from venue directors about how these drawings startled them for days every time they came in every morning, and most recently, a University gallery director thought one of her graduate student assistants was repeatedly goofing off because she kept seeing someone standing in the gallery doing nothing.
People # 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood 78”h x 72”w x 24”d area
Most of my pieces are sourced from photo references I take during gallery receptions. This replication of reality completes itself when the drawings return into a gallery space to interact with the community they were appropriated from. I make a habit of remembering the actual height of each individual I draw, so that when I put them into conceptual groupings, they have a natural sense of human variety. Although I have gone so far as to create a dimensional portal installation describing the Quantum Physics theory of multi-universes, with spit bodies entering and exiting through Plexiglas sheets, I am usually content to simply show people milling about, absorbed in their own world, or reacting to others.
Denise Stewart-Sanabria www.stewart-sanabria.com
People 49. 50 Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood 72”H x 48”W x 24”D area
Riding the Big Gun Charcoal and pastel pencil on plywood, ceramic, twill tape 4’ x 6’ x 5”
One of the original goals for much of pre-twentieth century Western art was to convince the viewer that what they were viewing on a flat surface was a fully dimensional scene. I’m trying to bring that basic idea to a new level by freeing the elements from their conventional framing.
Denise Stewart-Sanabria www.stewart-sanabria.com
Man Walking Ammonite Acrylic and ink on vintage paper collage on cardboard 11.5” x 9”
I have a growing interest in using vintage items in my work, particularly books and ephemera, but also wood, wallpaper, and metal. Old prints and photos in frames, when removed, often have a paper or cardboard backing that I keep and use. “Man Walking Ammonite” is created on just such an old piece of cardboard, with a beautifully aged surface, embellished with an illustrated page from a vintage book, paint drops, and coffee stains. My intention is to create pieces that look as if they’ve been stored away for ages, and, newly rediscovered, they seem to be asking the viewer to supply the lost history, the forgotten story of the previous owner, and the time they lived in. This is, of course, a function of art, the preservation of one person’s creative perspective as a reflection of a time gone by. The fact that I am creating these pieces now, and using my cartoon-influenced characters, reflects my own examination of mortality and time, the span of time and memory behind me, and the rest of life in front of me. Maybe that’s a grim examination, an autopsy on a living body; and my work, in its cartoonishness and darkly humorous tone, may not convey that message to the viewer. My process of art-making is intrinsically connected to my own process of living, and my endless examinations of myself and my space in the world. I’m happy that people like my work. I intend to make a whole lot more.
Jim Garmhausen jimgarmhausenart.com
Untitled/Window Acrylic and ink on wood and vintage window frame 22” x 41”
Mary Graphite and collage 61.25” x 49.5”
Patricia Elliott Schappler patriciaschappler.com
My imagery focuses on the drawn and painted figure in shallow, often collaged spaces. I work from family and friends and am encouraged by the narrative that naturally accompanies a psychologically driven subject. Merging my love of Western sensual form with Eastern, flat patterned design, I alternate Eden Graphite and collage 55” x 44”
between depth and surface to create pictorial tension. If the human figure within the narrative of home are my starting points, uncovering where home is held, how we share it, and how it shifts through event, archetype, and fictionalized story, are part of the journey made visible through tools and process.
BALDER 182013.02 11.8” x 16,7” Digital photoprint laminated on aluminum dibond RUSTY 4175.02 11.8” x 16.7” Digital photoprint laminated on aluminum dibond
NEUMANN 162018.2 11.8” x 11.8” Digital photoprint laminated on aluminum dibond WALKEN 99126 11.8” x 11.8” Digital photoprint laminated on aluminum dibond
FLECK 79310520.01 11.8” x 11.8” Digital print laminated on aluminum dibond
How many commercials have you seen in your life? How often have you been to the movies? How many TV or Netflix series did you watch? And how many books have you read? Do you pick up the daily newspaper or any other magazines? How much news do you watch on TV each day? How many Facebook posts do you read? How much time do you spend on the internet, or maybe you listen to the radio? Imagine that it would be possible to make every single piece of information, that you have ever absorbed in your life, visible in your face. What would a picture of you look like then?
Thomas Zydek thomas-zydek.de
