“White Out” Exhibition

Susan Eley Fine Art

poster for “White Out” Exhibition
[Image: Rachel Burgess "Superior III" (2021), monoprint on paper, 27 x 27 in.]

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Susan Eley Fine Art presents White Out, a three-person exhibition featuring mixed-media monotypes by Karin Bruckner, monoprints by Rachel Burgess and photorealistic, charcoal drawings by Katherine Curci.

The artists selected for White Out characterize Winter in distinct ways. Bruckner’s layering of cool blues and delicate greys refer to Winter’s limited sun and frigid weather. Burgess’ prints present and re- present the Piscataqua River and surrounding scenes in the fleeting January sun or in the moments just before sunrise. Curci’s landscapes offer the silent stillness of Winter, and turn leafless trees and half-moons into protagonists. White Out marks Bruckner’s seventh exhibition with SEFA, most recently: Paper Trail (2020), Winter Selects (2021) and Paint on Pointe (2021). Burgess has also enjoyed multiple group exhibitions with SEFA, including A Sense of Place (2019), AMERICANA Part I (2020) and This Land., the latter where we premiered Curci’s work earlier this year at our Hudson, NY location.

Karin Bruckner superimposes, weaves and embeds imagery until a unique and complex visual landscape emerges in each monotype. To create her mixed media works on paper, the artist layers shapes and colors and incorporates materials found in her home and studio—fabric, wire, coffee and even melted Tupperware tops. In the aptly titled PinkLabel, Bruckner folds a clothing tag over itself and runs it through the printing press, creating a new geometric shape with pops of orange, yellow and pink. In Bruckner’s studio, there are no such things as “mistakes”, but only “happy accidents”; she embraces the inherent unpredictability of the monoprint process and incorporates the unexpected into her work. Leaning into the element of surprise is ultimately what characterizes Bruckner’s artistic practice.

Bruckner emphasizes the “push and pull” of printmaking: pushing the medium to its limit using techniques of lithography, etching, collagraphy, chine collé and a multitude of others. LoopDiLoop uses a 3D-printed plate from a personal photograph. Relying heavily on white-on-white textures, viewers may interpret an aerial view of animal tracks through a snow-covered field, or the side of a hill after a well-deserved snow day. In TryingToPinItDown, five clusters, resembling snowballs or tumbleweeds, sit atop a background in varying tones of cool blue. Two bright pink dabs of color offer a welcome surprise and a balance to the composition, literally speared through by a skillfully placed toothpick. Amongst diverse shapes, textures, colors and materials, Karin’s work settles and finds equilibrium.

Rachel Burgess makes prints of scenes of coastal Maine, particularly the Piscataqua River, near her childhood vacation home. Burgess’ stunning, expressive monotypes—in single, diptych and triptych formats—are visual expressions of these childhood memories. Her goal of creating 100 is almost complete. In each piece, the landscapes are familiar, but they evolve with the seasons and time of day. Trees and bushes often line the coast, yet they are not the main attraction; instead the artist focuses on where the water meets the uninterrupted horizon line. Burgess’ landscapes are sublimely distilled, punctuated by an occasional tree or moon, elements which become recurring characters on nature’s stage set.

Burgess’ work ranges from the more recognizable landscapes to scenes that just barely register as water or sky. In Green River, a waning moon casts its light onto water, leaving the trees in shadow. Earth reflects the warm winter sky in Pink Snow, with a tree taking center stage. Gradations of subtle colors in Fog Bank—blues to greys to warm peaches—underscore the impressionistic views that the artist captures—first in sketches and sometimes years later when she revisits specific drawings from her many sketchbooks. One can almost feel the nipping breeze or the rustle of the last leaves clinging to the trees.

Katherine Curci began her series of charcoal drawings during the pandemic, in the Spring of 2020. Working from photographs—the artist’s own and from outside sources—Curci has completed over 100 seascapes and landscapes. Each scene is fully realized and highly nuanced—rendered in such expert detail that her works are often perceived as photographs. Featured imagery includes specific places throughout her home country of Canada and regions of South America and Europe. Carefully manipulating the pressure of the charcoal, Curci achieves all tones—from the deepest, velvety black to pure white highlights, while encompassing all tonalities in between. Curci renders sfumato cloud covers and misty seas, as well as highly detailed and densely populated tree stands. Similarly to Burgess’ prints, trees and moons often play main characters in Curci’s drawings. Stark, barren, but not lonely— Curci’s drawings are rich with the promise and mystery of a snowy coast or a starry night sky.

Media

Schedule

from December 02, 2021 to January 06, 2022

Opening Reception on 2021-12-02 from 18:00 to 20:00

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