Bruno David Gallery: Friday, 19 March 2010
DECADENSE: Cindy Tower
March 19 – May 8, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, March 19, from 6 to 9 pm
Front Room: Nanette Boileau: Heard but not Said
Media Room: Dickson Beall: Membrane Moments: Journey through Loss
Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Bruno David Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by Cindy Tower. Decadense [sic] includes recent paintings of decrepit, isolated and condemned architectural settings. A fully illustrated color catalogue will accompany the exhibition. The catalog includes an essay by Charlie Finch.
Cindy Tower lets her creative background shine through in paintings that have become visual evidence of performance. Raw in spirit and conviction, Tower’s highly articulated works engage the viewer in a visceral, otherworldly experience. Composite views of decrepitude become metaphors of bodily functions and reflect the political climate of our modern world. Wet, gloppy oil paint is applied in a loose yet precise manner in which subjects continuously dematerialize and reemerge. Tower’s painting practice mirrors her concept of gradual accumulation that not only provides an exhausting, claustrophobic sensation but also raises questions regarding the complexity and level of exchange that occurs in our modern world. Presenting the themes of consumption, intimacy, obsolescence and loss, the paintings are an overwhelming celebration of materials and process. They provide the viewer with an intuitive, physical experience that both engages and engulfs him or her in the self-contained environment of each artwork.
In the Front Room, the gallery presents Heard but not Said, an exhibition of small paintings by Nanette Boileau. Boileau’s inspiration for this series of work comes from a childhood experience in which a classmate falsely accused her of using a racial slur. Having never heard the insult before, Boileau nonetheless recognized the word’s evilness. According to the artist, "Epithets separate childhood friends on the school playground and divide people beyond the baseball diamond."
The use of the works’ small format forces the viewer to stand close to them and develop an intimate connection with each piece. This close proximity of the body to the painting allows the viewer to reflect on their personal relationship with the word. The pieces are painted in such a manner to appear across the room as an empty blank canvas. Upon closer inspection, the word embedded into the surface comes to light. The paintings’ white coating visually symbolizes the artist’s participation as a white woman within dominant culture. These artworks signify linguistic and visual awareness of difference and serve as a physical manifestation of the embedded signs and codes of behavior within our everyday.
In the Media Room, Multidisciplinary artist Dickson Beall, in a five-minute single channel video titled Membrane Moments: Journey through Loss with music by Chris W. Treloar, explores artist Cindy Tower’s creative work, through his dense layers of pictorialism and overlapping moments in time. Beall’s multi-faceted video records broken frames of continuity—a female artist at work in a dangerous and decaying setting, and her interaction with those who inhabit such places. Presenting Tower’s truck as studio on the road and, in the context of a performance in time, Beall layers planes of experience into a powerful narrative. The multi-layers of video and audio create an experience of detritus that mirrors Tower’s own work and documents her intense concern for the lost people and places that society has abandoned. Beall’s overlapping scenes are burned, cracked, stained, spotted, scratched and aggressive with energy, anger and concern. He presents a push of information to create ambiguity in meaning, metaphor and random chance. The video reflects Beall’s interest in dreams, fleeting thoughts, memories and reflections, as he documents the way selective consciousness accumulates and ultimately disappears. The music by drummer Chris W. Treloar of Membranophones heightens the tension in time that is experienced in the making of art in a transient space, blurring distinctions between painting, video and photography while playing the role of both participating artist and viewer.
March 19 – May 8, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, March 19, from 6 to 9 pm
Front Room: Nanette Boileau: Heard but not Said
Media Room: Dickson Beall: Membrane Moments: Journey through Loss
Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Bruno David Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by Cindy Tower. Decadense [sic] includes recent paintings of decrepit, isolated and condemned architectural settings. A fully illustrated color catalogue will accompany the exhibition. The catalog includes an essay by Charlie Finch.
Cindy Tower lets her creative background shine through in paintings that have become visual evidence of performance. Raw in spirit and conviction, Tower’s highly articulated works engage the viewer in a visceral, otherworldly experience. Composite views of decrepitude become metaphors of bodily functions and reflect the political climate of our modern world. Wet, gloppy oil paint is applied in a loose yet precise manner in which subjects continuously dematerialize and reemerge. Tower’s painting practice mirrors her concept of gradual accumulation that not only provides an exhausting, claustrophobic sensation but also raises questions regarding the complexity and level of exchange that occurs in our modern world. Presenting the themes of consumption, intimacy, obsolescence and loss, the paintings are an overwhelming celebration of materials and process. They provide the viewer with an intuitive, physical experience that both engages and engulfs him or her in the self-contained environment of each artwork.
In the Front Room, the gallery presents Heard but not Said, an exhibition of small paintings by Nanette Boileau. Boileau’s inspiration for this series of work comes from a childhood experience in which a classmate falsely accused her of using a racial slur. Having never heard the insult before, Boileau nonetheless recognized the word’s evilness. According to the artist, "Epithets separate childhood friends on the school playground and divide people beyond the baseball diamond."
The use of the works’ small format forces the viewer to stand close to them and develop an intimate connection with each piece. This close proximity of the body to the painting allows the viewer to reflect on their personal relationship with the word. The pieces are painted in such a manner to appear across the room as an empty blank canvas. Upon closer inspection, the word embedded into the surface comes to light. The paintings’ white coating visually symbolizes the artist’s participation as a white woman within dominant culture. These artworks signify linguistic and visual awareness of difference and serve as a physical manifestation of the embedded signs and codes of behavior within our everyday.
In the Media Room, Multidisciplinary artist Dickson Beall, in a five-minute single channel video titled Membrane Moments: Journey through Loss with music by Chris W. Treloar, explores artist Cindy Tower’s creative work, through his dense layers of pictorialism and overlapping moments in time. Beall’s multi-faceted video records broken frames of continuity—a female artist at work in a dangerous and decaying setting, and her interaction with those who inhabit such places. Presenting Tower’s truck as studio on the road and, in the context of a performance in time, Beall layers planes of experience into a powerful narrative. The multi-layers of video and audio create an experience of detritus that mirrors Tower’s own work and documents her intense concern for the lost people and places that society has abandoned. Beall’s overlapping scenes are burned, cracked, stained, spotted, scratched and aggressive with energy, anger and concern. He presents a push of information to create ambiguity in meaning, metaphor and random chance. The video reflects Beall’s interest in dreams, fleeting thoughts, memories and reflections, as he documents the way selective consciousness accumulates and ultimately disappears. The music by drummer Chris W. Treloar of Membranophones heightens the tension in time that is experienced in the making of art in a transient space, blurring distinctions between painting, video and photography while playing the role of both participating artist and viewer.
3721 WASHINGTON BOULEVARD
SAINT LOUIS MO 63108
314.531.3030
info@brunodavidgallery.com
www.brunodavidgallery.com
http://twitter.com/bdavidgallery
SAINT LOUIS MO 63108
314.531.3030
info@brunodavidgallery.com
www.brunodavidgallery.com
http://twitter.com/bdavidgallery
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