ROY G BIV: Fausto Fernandez, Jamie Brunson, & Robert Townsend June 21 through July 10, 2016
Cover image:
Fausto Fernandez, “I Ate Some Mushrooms on Friday and Remembered I Was Madly in Love With Her,” oil on canvas, 72 x 72”, 2013. Previously showing at “Beauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting” The Akron Art Museum, Ohio and McNay Art Museum
Before there was a written language, color was the universal language of mankind. Prehistoric humans used color to describe every aspect of their lives. Red= blood; orange= fire; yellow=sun; green=natural vegetation/food source; blue=air; indigo=water; violet=the color of sunset/sunrise transition. Historians believe prehistoric people would travel up to 25 miles to mine iron, for pigments to make the red and ochre paints for their cave paintings. Ancient Egyptians valued color symbolism in their tombs and temples so deeply that their desire for additional color options fueled their efforts in mining and trade. We know for certain that the Greek and Roman sculptures we think of as monochromatic white, were originally polychromatic! They had red lips, colored eyes, brilliantly hued garments-all painted with painstakingly created paints from pure pigment. The more rare the pigment, the more exalted the subject. In 1025, Persian philosopher Avicenna included the use of color as medical treatment in his encyclopedic The Canon of Medicine. Since then, chromo therapy has been used to stimulate various physical and psychological responses. Modern scientific research suggests that viewing bright colors causes the brain to release the “feel-good hormone” dopamine; while cool blues provoke release of oxytocin, causing feelings of calm. In the mid 1600s, Sir Isaac Newton discovered that by shining light through a prism, he could separate light into the colors naturally occurring in a rainbow. The resulting colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, give us the pithy acronym Roy G. Biv, which has helped multitudes of school children master the visible color spectrum.
The artists in Turner Carroll’s Roy G. Biv exhibition all use color as the visual language of artistic ecstasy. Fernandez, a Mexican artist now living in the U.S., places layer upon layer of color, embellishing his paintings with diamond dust glitter, to magnify and reflect the chromatic effect. Undeniably influenced by the festive use of color in Mexican culture, he collages colorful flowers; draws energetic lines with crayon, and his works emerge as a triumph of colorful beauty. Fernandez’s works were recently featured in the touring museum exhibition, Beauty Reigns: Baroque Sensibilities in Contemporary Art. Likewise, Townsend uses explosive color and celebratory themes in his hyper- realistic watercolors. Candy and lollipops, polka dots, and modernist analog clocks, all express the child-like excitement of color. Townsend’s colorful pop works are included in top museum collections such as the Getty Museum and the Frederick Weisman Art Foundation in California. Brunson is more of a pure colorist, and she uses deep hues and bold shapes to achieve meditative transcendence. Brunson has received numerous art residencies, and her works are included in the American Embassy in Doha, Qatar, and museums throughout the U.S. These three artists, like artists since the beginning of time, use the universal language of color to communicate directly through our senses, on the most powerful level. For more information please contact us at info@turnercarrollgallery.com.
Jamie Brunson Reflection oil, alkyd, and wax on polyester over panel 36 x 36" finished size $4500 finished size 2013 21977
Jamie Brunson Oasis oil, alkyd, and wax on polyester over panel 44.5 x 72" finished size $9500 finished size 2015 21997
Jamie Brunson Skirt oil, alkyd, and wax on ployester over panel 14 x 14" finished size $1800 finished size 2008 22026
Jamie Brunson Granada oil, alkyd, and wax on polyester over panel 30.75 x 30.75" finished size $3900 finished size 1998 22148
Jamie Brunson Sway oil, alkyd, and wax on polyester over panel 20 x 20" finished size $2400 finished size 2008 22882
Fausto Fernandez Maintenance of Social Distance acrylic and gel medium transfer on canvas 60 x 60" finished size $7000 finished size 2015 22002
Fausto Fernandez Studies on Symbolic Play collage, acrylic gel medium transfer on canvas 60 x 60" finished size $7000 finished size 2015 22003
Fausto Fernandez The Heights of Summer collage and acrylic on canvas 48 x 48" finished size $5000 finished size 2015 22141
Fausto Fernandez The 7th Annual Teddy Bear Toss collage, gel image transfer, and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36" finished size $3800 finished size 2015 22142
Fausto Fernandez Waves of Impact as a Method of Truth-telling collage, image transfer,spray paint and acrylic on 3 canvas stretchers 72 x 180" finished size $20000 finished size 2016 22734
Fausto Fernandez I Ate Some Mushrooms on Friday and Remembered I Was Madly in Love with Her oil on canvas 72 x 72" finished size $10000 finished size 2013 22743
Fausto Fernandez Multiple Evolutions of Structural Coloration Across the Tree of Life acrylic, collage, oil pastel on canvas 72 x 90" finished size $12000 finished size 2015 22744
Fausto Fernandez Seaside Gathering oil on canvas 48 x 96" finished size $6000 finished size 2016 22745
Fausto Fernandez Riverside Portland Setting mixed media collage on canvas 78 x 48" finished size $6000 finished size 2015 22746
Fausto Fernandez The Cooling Effect of Ice Cream collage, image transfer, spray paint, acrylic on canvas 72 x 48" finished size $6000 finished size 2016 22747
Fausto Fernandez Elegance and Daintiness mixed media collage on canvas 36 x 24" finished size $2800 finished size 2016 22748
Fausto Fernandez Stupefy Spell collage, photo transfer, and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36" finished size $3800 finished size 2016 22903
Fausto Fernandez Greater Sense of Inclusiveness collage, wallpaper, acrylic, and photo transfer on canvas 60 x 120" finished size $15000 finished size diptych 2016 22889
Fausto Fernandez Reading Lady Under the Sellwood Bridge collage, acrylic, oil sticks, spray paint, and wood on canvas 72 x 48" finished size $6000 finished size 2016 22905
Fausto Fernandez Portrait with a Rose and Scribble collage and acrylic on canvas 36 x 25.5" finished size $2800 finished size 2016 22906
Robert Townsend Emerson watercolor on paper 39 x 50" framed $13000 framed 2014 22739
Robert Townsend Oh Lolly Lolly watercolor on paper 37.5 x 37.5" framed $7500 framed 2011 22753
Robert Townsend Cherry Blossom oil on canvas 20 x 20" finished size $2400 finished size 2012 22813
Robert Townsend Add Color in Your Home watercolor on paper 43 x 52" framed $16000 framed 22787