Cobwebs of the ordinary

Today I submitted 500 postcards of the collage above for a group show, "A Book About Death," which will be on view at the Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery in New York City from September 10-22, 2009. The concept is to have artists respond to the subject of death. The show is an homage to Ray Johnson, a celebration of Emily Harvey, and a global exploration of death. 

People who visit the gallery can compile and take away an unbound book of all the entries -- a real collaborative concept/show/experience. I'm thrilled to have my work included and of course, am wishing I was going to be in NY during that time so I could collect the parts to make a book of my own. There is a very cool blog documenting the works that have been submitted so far. It's fascinating to see the range of work represented. (I'm number 203. Yoko Ono is number 161. Check it out.)

Upcoming All Colorado Show

I'm pleased that one of my collages has been juried into the All Colorado Art Show at the Curtis Center for the Arts and Humanities. "Rising Sun" is composed of fragments of contemporary imagery and joss paper and measures 20 x 16." The show will be on view from June 13 to July 31, 2009. An opening reception will be held June 13th from 5 - 7 pm.

Rex Ray Collage

A collage by Rex Ray is on view now at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver. It is a huge piece, composed of four panels. As the museum's website says, "For Rex Ray, the joy of making and viewing art is his continuing motivation. Drawing inspiration from his acknowledged influences—the Arts and Crafts Movement, Abstract Expressionism, organic and hard-edged abstraction, pattern and textile design, and Op Art—Ray playfully combines these formalist concepts with decorators’ tips gleaned from lowbrow publications and sources of popular culture in his pursuit to create beautiful things. Gracefully bridging the gap between fine and applied art, he distinguishes himself in each realm."

Rex Ray spoke about the collage this week at the museum's book club. His personal story was interesting and he was refreshingly open in talking about his process. He said his studio didn't have space to put all 4 panels together so he was only able to look at 2 of the panels together at a time and that he was wondering what it would be like when hung together! Above is a detail of the piece plus a view to show the entire piece with some people for scale. It was impossible for me to get back far enough in the space to get a shot of the whole thing... it may be about 30 feet long.

Apparently he has done lots of experimenting to find papers that retain their strength when wet (many are printmaking papers that he prints or paints on in advance). To get the larger color areas, he works wet, laying down whole sheets of pre-painted paper, like tiles, onto canvas (stiffened by rabbit skin sizing + 5-6 coats of white primer), sponging and spraying the paper areas with water so they stay damp as he works. Then he goes in with a sharp xacto blade and cuts away the areas he doesn't want. Much of it is cut free-form, with various punches used to get the small dots/rings.

It's a very impressive piece with elegant craftsmanship. In addition to this piece, I'm especially impressed with his paper collages although I've only seen those in a book to date. I am always intrigued to see someone moving from the design field, and using those compositional skills, as they approach fine art... since that is where I'm coming from too. 

Pierre Bonnard Sketch Studies

I was totally enchanted by an exhibit of Pierre Bonnard's later paintings, mostly of interiors, that are currently on view at the Met in New York. My particular fascination was with the thumbnail sketches that accompanied the paintings. Some were on scraps of paper, some in sketchbooks or journals mixed in with lists and notes. Most were pencil sketches but some had watercolor or goache as well. Apparently he did not paint his interiors as still lifes but often scribbled down scenes and returned to paint from his sketched notes later. The interiors and household items were familiar to him, many show up in multiple paintings, but the compositions were captured as he noticed them and stored away for future paintings. His somewhat unusual cropping of figures shows up in the sketches too. In some cases the paintings that resulted from the sketches were on view and it was great to see his process more fully... almost made me want to pick up a paintbrush instead of my usual paper and glue! On the wall of the exhibition, the following quote from Bonnard seemed most appropriate to the show and most profound... "I'm trying to do what I've never done, give the impression one has on entering a room: one sees everything and at the same time nothing." So glad I got to see this show... sometimes it's the story behind the work that really adds meaning -- his sketches were quickly captured and really wonderful to see in combination with the finished paintings. As usual, I wish I'd had time to linger longer!