calendario eventi  :: 

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12/4/2012

Three solo shows

Packer Schopf Gallery, Chicago

Paul Lamantia / Global Blindness / paintings
Of all the strategies, notions, and approaches to modern art, for Lamantia there was never a choice, but a desire to follow a certain direction, that came in the form of an obsession. That obsession was with his dreams and visions, and the need to record and communicate his feelings about them. It is difficult because the work is always changing. It is in a constant state of flux where narrative and psychological possibilities are set in motion and clairvoyant and hallucinatory occurrences can become painted realities. There is no fixed approach to these aesthetic problems Lamantia has created for himself. The works are structured in a subjective state within certain compulsive confines meant to draw the viewer into the dream. It is not always possible to make the illusion accessible to the viewer. The intention is not to illustrate, but to translate them into something real in the form of meaningful images. There is no preconceived planning of visual invention or execution of materials. This method creates artistic challenges and needs that may only be satisfied by exploring new ways to express one's vision and to express one's aesthetic problems. To base the work on conceptual or formal values would be a misinterpretation. The paintings and drawings are meant to be introspective events and should be experienced on an emotional level.

Matthew Cox / Heartthrobs and Avatars / embroidered x-rays
Redefinition of materials motivates Cox to create embroidered x-rays. By joining the cold, blue, medically technical plastic of the x-ray with the colorful, decorative and tactile embroidery thread each is removed from its original intention and creates a new entity. Handling these media also gives him an opportunity to comment on the ever increasing presence of photography in contemporary art by introducing labor over the quick, slickness of film. In Heartthrobs and Avatars, 2011, he transports this technique to a new place using iconic heartthrobs from Pop culture such as Snow White and Miss Piggy and avatars from Eastern religion and Greek mythology such as Ganesha and Minotaur. The possible visual imagery is rich, vast, and exciting. This new move has also gives him an opportunity to physically move out of the rectangle of the x-ray by extending the embroidery upward and outside of the frame.

Brett Eberhardt / Plain Sight / paintings
The imagery in Eberhardt’s paintings invite the type of reflection that occurs when one slowly observes one’s surroundings and realizes the human activity, both intentional and unintentional, that led to the current physical state of an interior space and the objects within it. It can be a beautiful thing, this combination of intentional and unintentional actions accumulated over time. The result of use and wear can be unpredictable, even mysterious, making what was once a plain white wall an abundantly rich surface and subject. This change that occurs over time and activity have a lot in common with the sequence of events that take place when building a painting. His painting process starts as a very controlled deliberate act, but over time becomes an embrace of all that painting has to offer, including those unexpected occurrences that can be so crucial to the life of a painting. Although he is after a convincing rendering of the subject, Eberhardt is not interested in creating a slick artificial surface or a hyper realistic image. The construction of the image with paint comes at the forefront and serves as a compelling record of his activity and process, a combination of intention, accident, deconstruction and reconstruction. It is important that these images are constructed with this material, not simply to elevate the subject, but for the discovery and possibilities of the medium used to construct the image.

Image: Brett Eberhardt: Blue Table, oil on panel, 2011, 62" x 41"

Artists’ Reception: Friday, April 13, 2012, 5 – 8 PM

Packer Schopf Gallery
942 W Lake Street - Chicago
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM

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