"Marked: A Show Of Figure" Exhibition

Like the Spice

poster for "Marked: A Show Of Figure" Exhibition

This event has ended.

It is little wonder that interpretations of the figure have been and continue to be so admired. After all, the figure is perhaps the most archaic and explored of all styles of art. Yet, even today, our cultural mastery of the figure can be redefined, reinvested, and reinvigorated by emerging artists. In the works exhibited at Like the Spice during Marked, six artists use the figure to reflect personal narratives of their own design.

The body contains history, living stories written in time. Every moment leaves its mark; every mark takes its moment. What comes from this is a mix of independent narratives, or perhaps a collection of fictions built from facts. The use of the figure, such a traditional idea, opens the door for many untraditional explorations. Instead of what is, our artists have chosen to paint what they think we should see, and in so doing opened our eyes to a new type of story; one we might never have been able to find alone.

In a perfect example of this guiding hand, Chino Amobi invites us to follow his melody as it resonates through color and shape. His multimodal work puts figure traditions beneath the gloss of our digital age, with the mix of layers and tones becoming what he defines as "hot media", and, ultimately, carrying the viewer along behind his piping tune.

Alison Blickle exaggerates her figures and forms, ending up in a fantasy self, walking through a world filled with a sense of freedom. Alison's narrative occurs as she builds from emotion, instead of any real being. In this way, Alison captures moments full of the feelings she chooses to portray, rather than the truthful persona from which she, or we, could be escaping.

Brendan Lott takes a different route, acting as the omniscient narrator to the story he defines. Brendan picks his images from shared online folders and sends them to China, where painters redefine the events these strangers have lived. Freed from clear context, the paintings are now behind a smokescreen, forcing us to confront our own collection of youthful mistakes. In the vacancy he offers, we are allowed to find our own reasons, and invent our own paths.

Jenny Morgan also offers a path within her pieces, as the deeper story of her work's creation reflects the progression of intentional entropy. The layers of Jenny's work collect to form history: a base of red, the scars of early sanding, final touches of light or finish. In this way she tears to the center of her subjects, creating deep colors that lock the memory of strong emotions into the canvas, and speaking as to the inside of our bodies.

The watercolors of Reuben Negrón show their subjects in the erotic candor generally left to the imagination. But hidden within the layers of watercolor is the shared intimacy that comes from a relationship, and the scenes play out as both strange and familiar at the same time. His choice to work in watercolor means that each layer of the piece must dry before he can continue, and so it is clear to see how the work has happened over time. We are left to follow like a traveler.

The work of Robin Williams glosses nostalgic. Her portraits invoke a darkness that somehow keeps all its color, like the bright and curious monsters of childhood or the warning patterns on a poisonous plant. Those figures inhabiting her world are calm and know no other life, but the story of their world leaves us astonished, unnerved and intrigued.

Media

Schedule

from June 11, 2010 to August 08, 2010

Opening Reception on 2010-06-11 from 18:30 to 22:00

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