QUOTIDIAN DETAIL
Alyssa Fanning. Drippy and meaty paint conceal the actual subjects she paints, concealing them behind a texture of pain and punk. There is an endless repetition of subject and surrounding within her practice, like a studio mantra intending to reach something higher. Dirty walls, dirty whites, and a tendency to focus on “the spaces within the spaces” pepper the work with an interest that sustains the viewer longer than the subject matter ever could.
Hye Won Hahn. Although only treated to a certain few Mylar pieces, it becomes obvious that her line and form are of foremost importance. I am reminded of a dance or performance in her pieces, where certain steps and methods are needed to create a fluid arabesque of motion.
Eric Diehl. The work, which uses a veneer of realism to lead one into a driven narrative, is well-formed compositionally and chromatically. He understands the implications of the work, even if he is still groping to find the reasons behind his autobiographical drive. There is a strong tendency to use self-reflection to direct his view of a larger world. Introspective experiences become the compass by which he works.
Katie Ng. Large works in oil dominate her scope. She enjoys the scrape of the underpainting, and very few of the works escape the attentions of only a few layers of paint. The touch is quick and accurate. The artist describes herself as “frustrated with life painting”, which has seemed to ultimately result in a restrained avoidance of her studio. I am left with a desire to see her “wreck” her Blick-catalog-perfect studio with tireless work and attention.
Jeff Pupa. Outrageous and eye-popping works in paper and collage. He assaults your built-in sensibilities, from his color choices to his representations of social and cultural taboo. The sheer exhilaration of crude, sardonic humor help to drive the work. I’m waiting in anticipation to see whether it turns into full-blown cynicism, or if a cathartic moment will help to hone the attentions of the artist, which are all over the floor right now-literally.
Catie Middleton. From seeing Katie’s work you might guess her studio was located in a secluded convent or monastery, as her childhood toys and obsessions all occupy the same dusty brown palette. Indeed, the work has such a single-minded determination upon direct representation of the toys, it would be easy to surmise she has the same control as any monastic clerk. The plastic subjects of her finely-tuned realistic paintings begin to assert individual personalities.
Steven Spavento. Pop culture as well as Pop Art more than likely help inform much of his work. Variety and repetition help him in his direction, which simultaneously technological, futuristic, cosmic, and fictional. In other words, he is very much letting himself become a filter for the information he is assaulted with every day, combined with the intense play and fun he finds in the choices of art-making.
Sara Heymann. Frenetic studio work, oil paintings, collages, and large paper trees create an environment for Sara, who has chosen to pin up every manifested thought that happens across the landscape of her attentions. Cultural references and self-reflections are chewed up and spit up. It is both obsessive and compulsive, and when I wonder what it’s about, I am reminded of someone asking her if there was a narrative. She responded, “Just make it up in your head.”
Ambrosia Sullivan. Her acrylic works reflect a variety of regurgitated intake and influence, and the subjects brim with pop culture, tacky pattern, and a certain Latin (Hispanic?) amalgam. Wonderful color is one of her strongest points, and she is not afraid to inject humor and absurdity into the work. The work practically pops and fizzes off the wall.
Jason Alvarez. The use of 3-D elements, including architecture and furniture, is intriguing. It’s more than enough to launch an investigation into the world of painting, personal narrative and autobiography, which is what the artist has suggested the work refers to. However, as much theory and experimentation is described, there is a sparse amount of actual work, comparatively, to back it up. This discomfort with the work is evident in the work he displays, where it looks like the paintings are just begging him to make more decisions.
Kirby. A collection of small-scale works that seem, at first, to come straight from life However, heightened, unrealistic colors and vantage points make the work more about personal perspective than realism. I would not characterize them as self-portraits, nor is there a universal “familiarity” that can transcend to the viewer. Is there a failure to commit to an idea, a color, or even a single painting?
Kylee Jensen. Oil paintings made at an approachable size. Photo-reference is used to achieve these small glances at New York life, which are simultaneously vibrant with globs of color as well as drab swaths of gray. There is air, life-like qualities, and noise to the work. The work leaves us begging to see more severity, more architecture, and more intensity.
Hye Won Hahn. Although only treated to a certain few Mylar pieces, it becomes obvious that her line and form are of foremost importance. I am reminded of a dance or performance in her pieces, where certain steps and methods are needed to create a fluid arabesque of motion.
Eric Diehl. The work, which uses a veneer of realism to lead one into a driven narrative, is well-formed compositionally and chromatically. He understands the implications of the work, even if he is still groping to find the reasons behind his autobiographical drive. There is a strong tendency to use self-reflection to direct his view of a larger world. Introspective experiences become the compass by which he works.
Katie Ng. Large works in oil dominate her scope. She enjoys the scrape of the underpainting, and very few of the works escape the attentions of only a few layers of paint. The touch is quick and accurate. The artist describes herself as “frustrated with life painting”, which has seemed to ultimately result in a restrained avoidance of her studio. I am left with a desire to see her “wreck” her Blick-catalog-perfect studio with tireless work and attention.
Jeff Pupa. Outrageous and eye-popping works in paper and collage. He assaults your built-in sensibilities, from his color choices to his representations of social and cultural taboo. The sheer exhilaration of crude, sardonic humor help to drive the work. I’m waiting in anticipation to see whether it turns into full-blown cynicism, or if a cathartic moment will help to hone the attentions of the artist, which are all over the floor right now-literally.
Catie Middleton. From seeing Katie’s work you might guess her studio was located in a secluded convent or monastery, as her childhood toys and obsessions all occupy the same dusty brown palette. Indeed, the work has such a single-minded determination upon direct representation of the toys, it would be easy to surmise she has the same control as any monastic clerk. The plastic subjects of her finely-tuned realistic paintings begin to assert individual personalities.
Steven Spavento. Pop culture as well as Pop Art more than likely help inform much of his work. Variety and repetition help him in his direction, which simultaneously technological, futuristic, cosmic, and fictional. In other words, he is very much letting himself become a filter for the information he is assaulted with every day, combined with the intense play and fun he finds in the choices of art-making.
Sara Heymann. Frenetic studio work, oil paintings, collages, and large paper trees create an environment for Sara, who has chosen to pin up every manifested thought that happens across the landscape of her attentions. Cultural references and self-reflections are chewed up and spit up. It is both obsessive and compulsive, and when I wonder what it’s about, I am reminded of someone asking her if there was a narrative. She responded, “Just make it up in your head.”
Ambrosia Sullivan. Her acrylic works reflect a variety of regurgitated intake and influence, and the subjects brim with pop culture, tacky pattern, and a certain Latin (Hispanic?) amalgam. Wonderful color is one of her strongest points, and she is not afraid to inject humor and absurdity into the work. The work practically pops and fizzes off the wall.
Jason Alvarez. The use of 3-D elements, including architecture and furniture, is intriguing. It’s more than enough to launch an investigation into the world of painting, personal narrative and autobiography, which is what the artist has suggested the work refers to. However, as much theory and experimentation is described, there is a sparse amount of actual work, comparatively, to back it up. This discomfort with the work is evident in the work he displays, where it looks like the paintings are just begging him to make more decisions.
Kirby. A collection of small-scale works that seem, at first, to come straight from life However, heightened, unrealistic colors and vantage points make the work more about personal perspective than realism. I would not characterize them as self-portraits, nor is there a universal “familiarity” that can transcend to the viewer. Is there a failure to commit to an idea, a color, or even a single painting?
Kylee Jensen. Oil paintings made at an approachable size. Photo-reference is used to achieve these small glances at New York life, which are simultaneously vibrant with globs of color as well as drab swaths of gray. There is air, life-like qualities, and noise to the work. The work leaves us begging to see more severity, more architecture, and more intensity.