Bruno David Gallery: Friday, 20 May 2011
LAURA BEARD: Thick and Smooth
May 20 – July 2, 2011
Opening Reception Friday, May 20, from 6 to 9 pm
Project Room: Charles P. Reay: Recent Sculptures
Front Room: Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis
Media Room: Ben Weiner: Na + (aq) + C5H8NO → (aq) NaC5H8NO4(s)
Public Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
SAVE THE DATE: GRAND CENTER ARTWALK
Friday, May 20 from 5 to 9 pm
Laura Beard’s new paintings and drawings continue her exploration of the primary impulse of abstraction by focusing on the direction and texture of each brushstroke. By using this technique, the paintings take on a structured chaos that is both powerful and energetic. Through pure abstraction, the work strives to engage the emotional impact of color, the structure of human instinct and the complexity of a deliberately flexible process. This unique flexibility allows for the evolution of each new work to build on the experiences of the last. The paintings remain open to change at all stages due to the complex process Beard undertakes in their construction, resulting in each painting’s own evolving language. The final layers of refinement, the “thick and smooth”, ignited Beard to create a body of work that defies any simple explanation or description. The work seeks to illuminate its viewers through a message of experienced intention, as well as a heightened awareness that is essential to the painted truth that the artist represents.
In the Project Room and the Front Room, Charles Reay’s first solo exhibition at the Bruno David Gallery titled Recent Sculptures and Metamorphosis. Charles (Chip) Reay’s studio is an intensely personal space, a space removed from the routines of everyday life, where he can indulge his imagination. It is a space, where free association, experimentation, trials and errors, encourages the outpouring of his creative mind. In his studio, there are no rules or standards of taste or beauty. It is a space for pure expression. In this current exhibition, Chip shares his studio space with the public, transporting an abbreviation of his treetop studio-sanctuary at his home in St. Louis County to the gallery. Viewers can walk into Chip’s world and stand amongst the exuberant variety of objects and ideas that fuel his practice: collections, collages, toys, sketches, clippings, an auto violin, a boy’s letter to Santa Claus proclaiming his goodness, a faceoff between Mickey and a real mouse, mannequins, maquettes, photographs, gatherings of memory infused eye candy. The mysterious arrangements and surprising juxtapositions installed in the two gallery spaces encourage the unconscious mind to kick in and transport viewers to exciting new realms of the imagination. This first-hand glimpse into Chip’s creative mind is a unique opportunity to learn about wellsprings and the artistic process.
Following the studio experience in the Front Room of the gallery, viewers can walk to the Project Room where Chip’s sculptures are displayed. A dramatic contrast to the chaos of the studio space, this room represents the result of his artistic process. Here, viewers can appreciate each sculpture with the added understanding of the infinite web of ideas beneath the surface. This show engages viewers with works of art from the perspective of the artist, an experience that no lovers of art should miss.
Chip’s exhibition coincides with the Second Annual Beacon Festival, running from May 30th through June 6th. A full schedule of the festival is available at www.stlbeacon.org/festival. There will be a special celebration for the artist during the festival on Tuesday, May 31st, at 5:30 p.m. at Bruno David Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.
In the Media Room, the gallery presents a new video work by Ben Weiner titled Na + (aq) + C5H8NO → (aq) NaC5H8NO4(s). Weiner’s new body of work has given way to a collection of stop-motion videos. Composed of thousands of photographs of synthetic materials, these videos are constructed like moving paintings. While his paintings are based on one or several photographic images, Weiner’s videos assemble a long series of photographs into a narrative of abstracted imagery. Each image in the video amplifies the texture, luminosity and elasticity of a material in order to strip it of its function and focus on its inherent illusionistic properties. As viewers, we watch in awe as the vaguely familiar substances coalesce into a mysterious flow of abstraction.
On the BDG East-Wall, the gallery presents a temporary life-size woodblocks and paper cutouts installation by Swoon (Caledonia Curry). Several other cutouts will be located around the city of St. Louis. The installation is in conjunction with the SGC International Conference hosted by Washington University in St. Louis - Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. The installation will be up until fully disintegrated.
May 20 – July 2, 2011
Opening Reception Friday, May 20, from 6 to 9 pm
Project Room: Charles P. Reay: Recent Sculptures
Front Room: Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis
Media Room: Ben Weiner: Na + (aq) + C5H8NO → (aq) NaC5H8NO4(s)
Public Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
SAVE THE DATE: GRAND CENTER ARTWALK
Friday, May 20 from 5 to 9 pm
Laura Beard’s new paintings and drawings continue her exploration of the primary impulse of abstraction by focusing on the direction and texture of each brushstroke. By using this technique, the paintings take on a structured chaos that is both powerful and energetic. Through pure abstraction, the work strives to engage the emotional impact of color, the structure of human instinct and the complexity of a deliberately flexible process. This unique flexibility allows for the evolution of each new work to build on the experiences of the last. The paintings remain open to change at all stages due to the complex process Beard undertakes in their construction, resulting in each painting’s own evolving language. The final layers of refinement, the “thick and smooth”, ignited Beard to create a body of work that defies any simple explanation or description. The work seeks to illuminate its viewers through a message of experienced intention, as well as a heightened awareness that is essential to the painted truth that the artist represents.
In the Project Room and the Front Room, Charles Reay’s first solo exhibition at the Bruno David Gallery titled Recent Sculptures and Metamorphosis. Charles (Chip) Reay’s studio is an intensely personal space, a space removed from the routines of everyday life, where he can indulge his imagination. It is a space, where free association, experimentation, trials and errors, encourages the outpouring of his creative mind. In his studio, there are no rules or standards of taste or beauty. It is a space for pure expression. In this current exhibition, Chip shares his studio space with the public, transporting an abbreviation of his treetop studio-sanctuary at his home in St. Louis County to the gallery. Viewers can walk into Chip’s world and stand amongst the exuberant variety of objects and ideas that fuel his practice: collections, collages, toys, sketches, clippings, an auto violin, a boy’s letter to Santa Claus proclaiming his goodness, a faceoff between Mickey and a real mouse, mannequins, maquettes, photographs, gatherings of memory infused eye candy. The mysterious arrangements and surprising juxtapositions installed in the two gallery spaces encourage the unconscious mind to kick in and transport viewers to exciting new realms of the imagination. This first-hand glimpse into Chip’s creative mind is a unique opportunity to learn about wellsprings and the artistic process.
Following the studio experience in the Front Room of the gallery, viewers can walk to the Project Room where Chip’s sculptures are displayed. A dramatic contrast to the chaos of the studio space, this room represents the result of his artistic process. Here, viewers can appreciate each sculpture with the added understanding of the infinite web of ideas beneath the surface. This show engages viewers with works of art from the perspective of the artist, an experience that no lovers of art should miss.
Chip’s exhibition coincides with the Second Annual Beacon Festival, running from May 30th through June 6th. A full schedule of the festival is available at www.stlbeacon.org/festival. There will be a special celebration for the artist during the festival on Tuesday, May 31st, at 5:30 p.m. at Bruno David Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.
In the Media Room, the gallery presents a new video work by Ben Weiner titled Na + (aq) + C5H8NO → (aq) NaC5H8NO4(s). Weiner’s new body of work has given way to a collection of stop-motion videos. Composed of thousands of photographs of synthetic materials, these videos are constructed like moving paintings. While his paintings are based on one or several photographic images, Weiner’s videos assemble a long series of photographs into a narrative of abstracted imagery. Each image in the video amplifies the texture, luminosity and elasticity of a material in order to strip it of its function and focus on its inherent illusionistic properties. As viewers, we watch in awe as the vaguely familiar substances coalesce into a mysterious flow of abstraction.
On the BDG East-Wall, the gallery presents a temporary life-size woodblocks and paper cutouts installation by Swoon (Caledonia Curry). Several other cutouts will be located around the city of St. Louis. The installation is in conjunction with the SGC International Conference hosted by Washington University in St. Louis - Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. The installation will be up until fully disintegrated.
3721 Washington Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63108
314.531.3030
info@brunodavidgallery.com
www.brunodavidgallery.com
St. Louis, MO 63108
314.531.3030
info@brunodavidgallery.com
www.brunodavidgallery.com
posted by Bill Barrett at 12:31 PM
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