Exhibition | Seeing Clearly |
In this group exhibition, a captivating exploration of the exhibition theme, Seeing Clearly, emerges through the diverse trains of thought pursued by the participating artists. From the ethereal and intangible to the scientific and empirical, each artwork presents a distinct perspective on the concept of understanding and perceiving with clarity.
Intriguingly, the artists navigate the delicate tension that exists between the visible and the invisible, seeking to unravel what remains enigmatic or elusively dissolves before our eyes. Through their distinct artistic approaches, they offer a profound reflection on the myriad forms that 'seeing clearly' can assume.
Troy Ouellette - Best in Show
Entangled Fields
Artist Statement: In these works, Ouellette combines diagrams featuring magnetic fields overlapping microphone polarities, charts of the Earth's magnetic field, and polar maps with imaginary bubble images that form to encapsulate boundaries of safety. The artist views this as a jumping-off point from some of the work involving his field recordings of the magnetosphere, but these works also came out of various trajectories.
Heavily influenced by the experimental musical compositions of John Cage and his use of Czech astronomer Anton Becvar's Atlas Eclipticalis between 1961-1962, Ouellette was inspired by the way notation and star charts could coexist. In his compositions, Cage indicated the possibility of attaching microphones to some or all of the orchestral instruments during the performances. By extension, Ouellette created these three works by including numerous sources to visualize the invisible energy fields around us that silently work to generate part of our reality.
Wai Yan Lam - Director's Choice
Breath I
Artist Statement:
We breathe every moment
But we can’t see the breath
How does a single breath look like?
Mouth initially open up, air comes out with a pleasant mouthfeel
Puffs of sooty smoke mingle with the darkness
But during the initial air dissipates, it will be refluxing to the mouth
Another air puffing out, strong and thin circulated formless and complex
Phoebe Agnès Mills - Curator's Choice
What's Behind
oil painting United States
Artist Statement: This body of work uses a vibrant color palette, dissolved boundaries, and obscured figures to meditate on ephemerality and loss in an optimistic light. I paint from photos I have taken from my own life to spend time with moments that have passed and infuse them with feeling. While my figures are painted with thick, substantial strokes that mark an attempt to hold life still, their faces are not always clearly depicted.
While some portraits are rendered meticulously, other aspects of their worlds are hazy and painterly. Balancing an awareness of loss with a desire to solve what only dissolves, I use my own experiences to reconcile contradicting forces of change and stability, light and dark, and past and present using bright colors and musical brushstrokes. Through the resolution of these contradictions, this work attempts to capture the melancholy joy of existing in a world that changes from one moment to the next.
Jeff Newman - Honorable Mention
Absinthe At Twilight In Bayeux France
oil United States
What does the last common ancestor of humans and dogs look like? An adult will argue about it. A child or an artist will make a picture about it.
My formal education is Biology. Art is the constant in my life for as long as I can remember. My Grandmother was an artist that introduced me to the world of painting through her extensive library of art books and allowing me free rein in her studio from the time I was little.
I can't help but to work across the spectrum from abstract to representational, often combining elements of each within a single painting. My medium is oil with experimental palettes, composition, theory, and a lot of intuition as my guide.
| Finalists |
Alireza Zandi
The Other Form Should Be Seen
graphite
Iran
Cheung Pak Yu
Struggles with Sense and Sensibility
oil, acrylic, ink and colored pencils on canvas
Hong Kong
Lianne Jedeikin-Goldsmith
There You Are Liv
oil & charcoal on wall paper
United States
Lianne Jedeikin-Goldsmith
These Are Not Rose Coloured Glasses
oil & charcoal on wall paper
United States
Rachel Cecelski
Red Floral Skies
oil, acrylics, mixed media
United States
