"Winter Haiku" Exhibition
Jenkins Johnson Projects
This event has ended.
Winter Haiku mixes small to medium size paintings, photographs, glass sculpture and works on paper and compliments each unique piece with a haiku -- the form of Japanese poetry consisting of three metrical phrases in 5, 7, and 5 syllables. All the artists showcased in the exhibition comment and observe on life and the world around us in thoughtful, unique, and colorful ways. Their innovative techniques and new ideas challenge the way we think and understand art.
Some highlights of the exhibition include artists Scott Fraser, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Courtney Johnson, and Etsuko Ichikawa. Scott Fraser’s whimsical miniatures are simple, charming and delectable. His seasoned realistic style combined with his application of a striking, vivid, contrasting palette reveal hyper-realistic depictions of a glamorous butterfly, a delicate line of shells, and even a lovely sea urchin. The haiku pairings, written by members of his family, attach a sentimental association to each painted object, true to Fraser's style. Investigating the psyche of the teenage girl, Julia Fullerton-Batten presents evocative imagery that tunnels back to memories of youthful, emotional experiences. Girls gathered in a stately, old-world, cherry-wood library, all dressed in uniform to look identical, well-behaved, and studious, but underlying feelings of growing pains, self-investigation and awkwardness can be seen in their uncomfortable stances and expressions. Balancing the tight realism and photographic works in this exhibition are the abstract hand blown glass sphere sculptures by emerging artist Courtney Johnson that glimmer with faint silver images that emerge from the surface. The spheres represent memory capsules with images of people and buildings that evoke a precious nostalgia. Similar to Johnson, Etsuko Ichikawa’s technique is wonderfully innovative and unique, and yet the result is subtle, simple and sensual. Her ethereal glass pyrographs are created by drawing with molten glass. Ichikawa melts the glass on the tip of a stick and traces it over the paper forming organic, fluid lines. Her process is as rhythmical and fascinating as the product itself. The written word element to these works has been letter pressed by the artist onto the works themselves, creatively interlacing the written word and the artwork.
Symbolism, gestured mark-making, color interaction, subject, light and shadow all define what a painting, drawing or photograph intends to convey. Similarly in poetry such as haiku, the placement of each word, the aural effects of the words in line, and fragmented sentences or short phrases depict a narrative, a person, a place or, perhaps, a feeling. Elements of the story are left untold and the viewer or reader is left to decipher what the artist has presented with his or her own interpretation, applied knowledge and personal experience. It's such that the essence of a painting lies beneath the surface and the essence of a haiku can be interpreted between the lines. Winter Haiku parallels these two creative expressions, as this connection has been made many times throughout history, and allows the words and artwork to interact with and define one another.
[Image: Scott Fraser "Striped Butterfly" (2009) oil on copper, 6 x 6 in.]
Media
Schedule
from December 10, 2009 to January 30, 2010
Artist(s)
Ben Aronson, Katherine Chang Liu, Gerald Förster, Scott Fraser, Julia Fullerton Batten, Lynn Goldsmith, Wes Hempel, Etsuko Ichikawa, Courtney Johnson, Rene Lynch, Scott Prior, Kay Ruane, Sonya Sklaroff, Skip Steinworth, Francesca Sundsten, Janice Urnstein Weissman, Hiroshi Watanabe, Jason Wheatley, ZZ Wei, Don Williams, Michael Workman, Sherrie Wolf, JeongMee Yoon