Most of us, from an early age, develop a fascination with animals. Whether it’s a little girl’s obsession with horses or a man’s desire to come face to face with a grizzly, we find ourselves identifying with the other species that share the planet. In her encaustic collage work, New Orleans artist Miranda Lake uses a visual vocabulary of animalistic ephemera to explore our relationship with and understanding of our fellow creatures.
Like the fantastical illustrations of a children’s book, Lake juxtaposes her creatures into incongruous landscapes and situations, giving her encaustics a bewitching whimsicality. I mean, a bunny riding a canon? What could be better?
But thinking more deeply about the work, I’m struck by the thought that from the time we’re young, we tend to imbue wild animals with human characteristics and playfulness. We forget that they are simply living by instinct and how very much our own behavior effects theirs. Just like us, they are trying to survive as best they can.
In our travels, Mr. Forager and I have been very fortunate to have seen some amazingly beautiful places. Unfortunately, for many, the opportunity to see unspoiled beauty is rare. Our landscapes are filled with strip malls and fast food joints, rather than untamed forests. In his resin cast work, Los Angeles artist Brooks Kalzwedel examines this dichotomy of urban development versus wilderness.
In these heavily layered pieces, Salzwedel’s landscapes are disrupted by electrical towers and sprawl, almost seeming to be choked by encroaching development. The mechanical elements look to be nearly parasitical, especially in Tendrils ( 3rd down ), they seem to have incorporated themselves as a part of the root.
Such beauty, yet so filled with sadness for what is lost. If you’d like to see more of Brooks Salzwedel‘s work, please visit his website. If you’re in the San Fran/Oakland area, you can see his work being shown with Mayumi Hamanaka in the two person exhibition, Temporal Void at Johansson Projects in Oakland until January 16, 2014.
I always remember my first visit to Seattle in the springtime. The cherry trees were blooming in the neighborhood where Mr. Forager was living ( this was before I became Mrs. F ) and then it rained, as it is always wont to do in Seattle. After the rain, the blossoms weren’t quite as fluffy and perfect as they’d been, but we were left with a magical blanket of pink petals dotting the sidewalks. The wind would eventually sweep each petal into its breeze and carry it away to some unknown place. As I look at the floral encaustics of Seattle artist Alicia Tormey, I’m reminded of the delicate strength it takes to withstand the storms.
Floral Study IV, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10
Tormey’s flowers have a wonderful, swirly diaphanous quality as translucent strands float from and around them. In some, we see look to be veins coming through, as if these are the angels of flowers loved and pressed between book pages as a remembrance.
Fly Away, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 36×36Floral Form V, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 24×24
Each flower almost takes on the personality of a dancer’s movements.. wild yet graceful.. controlled chaos, passionate yet maintaining an elegant line, always.
Floral Study III, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10
To see more of Alicia Tormey’s work, please visit her website.
WINTER TRANSITIONS; SPRING STORMS is R. Roberts Gallery’s celebration of the transition from the grey, dreary days of winter into the fresh bloom of spring. The show features the work of three very different artists, mixed media artist Madeline Peck-Wagner, sculptor James Oleson and encaustic painter Kathleen Wobie.
As you enter the gallery, you may almost miss James Oleson’s tiny bust sculpture. This diminutive piece, made of repurposed metal, will definitely make you stop and take the time to really check it out. I couldn’t believe I walked right by it when I first came in! Beyond the bust is one of Oleson’s horse sculptures. With its stilt-like legs and flowing tail, this equine could be right out of a Tim Burton movie. Oleson also has some much larger scale sculptures that are interesting in their own right.
Speaking of equines, Madeline Peck-Wagner’s mixed media works were defnitely, for me, the star of this show. She takes subject matter that could be trite and cringe-worthy ( think cheesy Southwestern art ), but treats it in a unique, contemporary and elegant way.
These are delicate line drawings possessing an intense presence and power, much like the impressive animals depicted. The cross-hatching & precision of the lines are reminiscent of architectural drafting, giving the figures depicted a strutctural, landscaped quality. Conversely, blots and washes of brightly colored paints call to the spiritual significance such animals, both living and decayed possess.
Just as the delicate, bare branches of winter transition into the full, heady blooms of spring, so we move from Madeline Peck-Wagner’s graceful lines into Kathleen Wobie’s encaustics, thick with wax, paint & color. Kathleen’s pieces, in the context of this show, seem to depict spring at its height– full of pastel tones and sunshiney warmth.
For me personally, I found the larger, abstract piece below to be Wobie’s most successful of this show. This piece, rather than being the literal translation of winter to spring that the piece above is, instead represents more the feeling of spring– of rebirth, renewal and the joy of being alive.
As we in North Florida transition into spring ( though some days lately, it feels as if summer is already upon us! ), take the time to drop by R. Roberts to see how these artists make the switch and enjoy this last show in the gallery’s current space. R. Roberts is doing some transitioning of their own, can’t wait to see the bountiful blooming that is sure to be in store!
R. Roberts Gallery is located at 3606 St. Johns Ave in historic Avondale, in Jacksonville.
Winter Transitions; Spring Storms will be on display through April 23rd, the gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm.
