1st Annual
123 SOLO Guild Shows
The Guild’s first annual 123 Solo Show, created to identify and support emerging and mid-career artists, will open January 21, 2012.
OPENING RECEPTION: SNOWDATE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2-4pm
Last February artists were chosen by juror HELAINE POSNER OF THE NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART to exhibit a body of work in the Guild’s main gallery space.
Congratulations to artists Ann Conrad, Heidi Lewis Coleman & Fruma Markowitz!
Fruma Markowitz (Gallery 1)
“The seemingly endless variation of form, texture, light, and composition in my kitchen sink, captured on almost a daily basis, has become a journal of my family’s shared experience. These mundane objects have turned into metaphors for how we live and dine together, our celebrations marked by the “good” china and silver, a dinner on the run by the plastic containers that once held “leftovers,” the daily remains in coffee mugs of “caffeine-o-holic” adults, fragile wine goblets, sturdy frying pans, porous sievers, razor-sharp knives…meals shared, memories made, the ongoing tale of the daily routine that is family life.” Fruma Markowitz
Ann Conrad (Gallery 2)
“The works in The Bitmap Series and Diffraction series were created in 2011 using multiple solar intaglio plates printed in layers and in varying combinations. After the weeks of printing were complete, I brought the prints back to my studio and worked on them by hand. While each series begins with a common matrix of solar intaglio plates, the varied inking and handwork results in each print being unique. Both series begin with an extremely close digital look at landscape. Digital tools offer me ways of seeing something familiar from a new vantage point.” Ann Conrad
“My work reflects an ongoing exploration into the aesthetics of using language in art. While most conceptual artists incorporate text into their work as a means of analyzing popular culture or for making political and social commentary, I am more intrigued with developing text as a visual design element. I am particularly inspired by Asian art and have studied the intricate calligraphy used to decorate ancient scrolls and screens. The columns of simple, yet elegant characters may express specific meanings, but a viewer is not required to understand that meaning in order to appreciate the grace and integrity of the artwork.I create mixed media pieces and steel sculptures which incorporate my own automatic, abstract writing. Originally, my invented languages were painted on paper, cut out and then applied to a painted canvas. As the work has evolved, I’ve continued to develop new characters by deconstructing and reconstructing my original text, creating languages which are visually richer and more complex. More recently, I have extended this process by incorporating “Mandalas” into my art, circular forms which were originally used by the Hindus and Buddhists as focal points for meditation. For me, the languages have an ancient, almost mystical quality. I believe that because my artwork communicates in the abstract, individual viewers are not forced to translate it specifically, allowing them to “feel” the energy of each piece and to take away their own unique messages on a subconscious level.” Heidi Lewis Coleman
