COALESCING CONNECTIONS
On View May 19, 2023 - July 8, 2023
As a species we are constantly evolving, but we never retract from our instinctive need for nature. These fascinations with nature stem from an innate biologically driven need to interact with other forms of life, such as animals and plants. This group exhibition features seven artists who work with unique combinations of mediums to explore and project their deep connections to the natural world around us. Utilizing watercolor, ceramic, oil, wood, silkscreen and more, COALESCING CONNECTIONS showcases collaborative efforts between artistic styles, mediums and, of course, nature.
This group exhibition features the work of Julie Anderson, Mark Penner Howell, Sara Sanderson, Brian Comber, Cara Enteles, Sharon Strasburg, and Norman Epp.
Press Release (pdf)
Price List (pdf)
JULIE ANDERSON
With a background in biology, images relating to science and nature are consistently present in JULIE ANDERSON’s work. Her latest ceramic wall sculptures study how time affects the physical attributes and ecology of plants and animals. She explores how these beings move, grow, age, and die. Veins deepen, leaves shrivel, and flowers turn to seeds relinquishing their offspring to nourish a new generation of birds or mammals.
MARK PENNER HOWELL
Exploring the symbiotic potential of nature as a prompt to reveal connections between deeper parts of ourselves and the natural world, MARK PENNER HOWELL presents his latest series of work. This body of work features images of animals covered in proverbs- many about nature- written in the native language of their origins. Humans have long looked to nature to learn about themselves, and conversely, much of what we understand about nature is dictated by our own projections onto it.
SARA SANDERSON
SARA SANDERSON’s work balances the worlds of memory and realism. Drawn to organic landscapes and structures, the paintings offer an intensity of color, brushwork, and gesture. This work captures the essence of a subject while allowing the viewer to imagine their own sentiment. Beginning with a simple drawing, the paintings take shape through observations of light and shadow, which allows for a visual melody to unfold.
BRIAN COMBER
Painting large images, emphasizing the vibrancy of color and the shape to which watercolor and gouache lend themselves, BRIAN COMBER presents his latest series “Unstill Life”. His approach to these works is to break apart objects and force the viewer into filling in the gaps with impressions of their own. The positive and negative spaces of the pieces bring a sense of life and movement. Techniques he originally developed in oil painting, printmaking, and watercolor results in a unique Comber experience.
CARA ENTELES
Stemming from deep fascination and close observation of nature, CARA ENTELES is best known for her joyful paintings depicting natural and botanical forms. She has developed a unique technique that combines silkscreen printing and oil painting on aluminum or acrylic sheet panels. The surfaces of the painting change with the light, mimicking the natural world.
NORMAN EPP
Natural forms : those of mountain crags and bristlecone pine; the desert slot canyons; underwater seascapes ; and undulating prairies fascinate NORMAN EPP’s sensibilities. Formal aspects derivative from those impressions merge into monolithic sensuous expressions as he works. Juxtapositions of smooth, rough, flowing, abruptness, and emergence stimulate emotional responses, creating a bonding of human spirit as one with natural evolution.
The richly luminous tones and softly undulating transitions of color and texture in SHARON STRASBURG’S works invite you to embark on a journey to a beloved vista from your memory or imagination. Using a laser to cut then reassemble the sinuous shapes into soothing contours of earthly detail, this latest series is created using a combination of painting and printmaking techniques. Strasburg’s belief in the value of ‘place’ is echoed in the UNESCO decades old manifesto, which aims to preserve the physical and spiritual elements that give meaning, value, emotion and mystery to a place that creates an emotional bond between someone and somewhere.
Artist Statement (pdf)
Resume (pdf)
