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Email PagePainting = Poetry - ut pictura poesis 2008
April 2, 2008- April 26, 2008
Reception: April 5, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Fred Danziger, Ailene Fields, Jacqueline Gnott, Joe Hameister, Nancy Bea Miller, James Mullen, Nick Patten, Dean F. Thomas
Sherry French Gallery
601 W 26th St“The extreme austerity of an almost empty mind Colliding with the lush, Rousseau-like foliage of its desire to communicate Something between breaths, if only for the sake Of others and their desire to understand you and desert you.” -- “And Ut Pictura Poesis is Her Name” by John Ashbery
Painting and poetry are both powerful mediums with the ability to connect people with shared experiences or rescue them from the harsh realities of the literal world. In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Sherry French Gallery in Chelsea is excited to announce an exhibit that brings these art forms together. The outstanding realist and representational artists in this show include Fred Danziger, Ailene Fields, Jacqueline Gnott, Joe Hameister, Nancy Bea Miller, James Mullen, Nick Patten and Dean F. Thomas. These artists have experimented with the combined capabilities painting and poetry have for healing and change. Their work has been inspired by and partnered with written pieces by famous poets, peers, and the artists themselves.
Painters and poets are truth-seekers, using minimal elements to create a clear picture of the world around them. Both artistic mediums work within formal constraints, such as style and form, to convey what seems impossible on a piece of paper – the nature of human experience. Often, their goal is to forge connections. Artists can define experiences clearly, so that others may view their work and find relief in having an ambiguous feeling defined or comfort in knowing that someone else has lived through a similar event. Conversely, art offers an escape from the harsh realities of life and allows us to face our greatest fears in a way that is safely confined to a two dimensional surface.
Fred Danziger’s landscape paintings couple the patterns and designs of the natural world with its inherent chaos. The result is a complex image that both reflects nature’s contradictions and succeeds on an abstract level. Danziger finds inspiration hiking and observing, while contemplating the words of his favorite poets and nature writers. “The writings give a voice to nature,” he says of Loren Eiseley, Lewis Thomas, and Annie Dillard. Reading informs his work by keying him in to certain details, teaching him biology and shedding a peaceful light on his subjects. Painting, for Danziger, is an act of worship – pure in that he attempts to avoid propaganda, personal ideas, or concerns about anything except being close to nature. When asked what genre his paintings would be if they were a piece of writing, he responds, “nature/non-fiction, for a mass audience and with a kind of mystical, spiritual component.”
Glenn Kessler is a master of the craft of painting. His influences reach as far back as the Medieval Craft Guilds and his techniques do likewise. However, his subject matter is the face of our earth today. He stresses the importance of historical and technical education and dedication to process before creative expression can take flight. He evaluates artworks – paintings and poems alike – based on the amount of time you want to spend with them. The stunning detail of his work and the passion that shines though it keeps you coming back for more.
As artists, medium is almost irrelevant. Far more influential is the drive to create. Many artists, when asked why they decided to pursue art, will say that it was not a choice. The drive to make something substantial or beautiful out of chaos or loss can be all-consuming. Both poetry and painting transport ideas outside of the self where they can be considered rationally and shared.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show
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Sherry French Gallery was last updated: 2008-11-22
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