THE ORGANIC LINE
Within the myriad expressions of art, line serves as the nucleus, the fundamental element of creation. When using this element as a nexus and fiber, artists can generate complex outer-worldly realms and emotional, inner-worldly experiences – and sometimes, when these fissures and furrows are broken down into pure form, they can simply move us along on a linear trip, unexpectedly dropping us off into places that make our primeval responses to shape and stroke suddenly glow to life.
In The Organic Line, AC Project curator Andi Campognone has focused not only on the conclusion of this particular two-dimensional journey, but on the process of getting there – the deconstructed and exposed natural significance of the line in its unobstructed and organic form.
Here we find expressions birthed by artists who are unshackled by machine or technology – hand-drawn images that raise the foundational essence of line into the spotlight both for celebration and quiet rumination.
Dawn Arrowsmith’s Breathing Line with Corners, insists we contemplate, in fact. Her labyrinth of white lines of Japanese ink on tan canvas almost force us into a welcomed Zen moment, pulling us close as we hover within inches of the canvas to follow with the eye the line’s rudimentary journey into soft oblivion.
Gary Paller, on the other hand, explodes line in his two untitled acrylic pieces – in one, bending and warping it into vibrating cells that slump and jam together, and then expanding it into a voluminous lazy gray ribbon that, on closer inspection, we find is actually composed of a multitude of dimly iridescent strokes.
Valerie Wilcox’s two wire sculptures, Scribble IV and Untitled 2, transform our journey through line into clear singularity – a jaunty, one-way ticket to a simplistic realm unbridled by obstacle or intrusion.
Ann Marie Rousseau adds weight to line by repetition in her industrial wax crayon on rag paper Artemis, creating a conversation between splintering strokes that culminates in a mass voice of form that still allows the individuality of each mark to be heard. In her triage of graphite images, 100 Points on a Line, she redirects those voices into herds of filament that both cling together and pull apart on their way to a common destination.
In Virginia Katz’s mixed media pieces, Formations-Magenta Field and Force Fields – Sand and Water, the term “organic” might well take on an additional reference like organism. Here we find a complex network of lacerations and cracks, varied in strength and power, hue and shadow, all working together to generate an image that seems directly reflective of the natural world.
And in Michael Salerno’s four oil on panel canvases and his ink and acrylic on masonite piece line is submerged within color with the hatch marks, ticks and slashes allowed to delicately peer through pigment charged with virility and verve.
In the adjoining gallery space, sculptor Rebecca Niederlander has created a site-specific installation that also speaks to the organic line; her suspended, primary-colored threads act almost like lures, enticing and pulling us into the vibrissa of some ethereal animal. In all of its facets, The Organic Line exhibition serves as both a reminder of the power of line and a tribute to its expression – a dynamic display of fusion and dissection that speaks to the very essence of our visual world.
Stacy Davies
Pomona, Ca 2009
Opening night note:
During the Arts Walk reception, artist Barbara Berk will be featured in a performance of creation as she sits upon a pedestal with pencil and pad in hand, and transforms the imagery and motion around her into fixed form for the linear record.
The Organic Line
January 9 - February 27, 2010
Opening Reception Saturday January 9, 6-10pm
Arts Walk Reception Saturday, February 13, 6-10pm
In The Organic Line, AC Project curator Andi Campognone has focused not only on the conclusion of this particular two-dimensional journey, but on the process of getting there – the deconstructed and exposed natural significance of the line in its unobstructed and organic form.
Here we find expressions birthed by artists who are unshackled by machine or technology – hand-drawn images that raise the foundational essence of line into the spotlight both for celebration and quiet rumination.
Dawn Arrowsmith’s Breathing Line with Corners, insists we contemplate, in fact. Her labyrinth of white lines of Japanese ink on tan canvas almost force us into a welcomed Zen moment, pulling us close as we hover within inches of the canvas to follow with the eye the line’s rudimentary journey into soft oblivion.
Gary Paller, on the other hand, explodes line in his two untitled acrylic pieces – in one, bending and warping it into vibrating cells that slump and jam together, and then expanding it into a voluminous lazy gray ribbon that, on closer inspection, we find is actually composed of a multitude of dimly iridescent strokes.
Valerie Wilcox’s two wire sculptures, Scribble IV and Untitled 2, transform our journey through line into clear singularity – a jaunty, one-way ticket to a simplistic realm unbridled by obstacle or intrusion.
Ann Marie Rousseau adds weight to line by repetition in her industrial wax crayon on rag paper Artemis, creating a conversation between splintering strokes that culminates in a mass voice of form that still allows the individuality of each mark to be heard. In her triage of graphite images, 100 Points on a Line, she redirects those voices into herds of filament that both cling together and pull apart on their way to a common destination.
In Virginia Katz’s mixed media pieces, Formations-Magenta Field and Force Fields – Sand and Water, the term “organic” might well take on an additional reference like organism. Here we find a complex network of lacerations and cracks, varied in strength and power, hue and shadow, all working together to generate an image that seems directly reflective of the natural world.
And in Michael Salerno’s four oil on panel canvases and his ink and acrylic on masonite piece line is submerged within color with the hatch marks, ticks and slashes allowed to delicately peer through pigment charged with virility and verve.
In the adjoining gallery space, sculptor Rebecca Niederlander has created a site-specific installation that also speaks to the organic line; her suspended, primary-colored threads act almost like lures, enticing and pulling us into the vibrissa of some ethereal animal. In all of its facets, The Organic Line exhibition serves as both a reminder of the power of line and a tribute to its expression – a dynamic display of fusion and dissection that speaks to the very essence of our visual world.
Stacy Davies
Pomona, Ca 2009
Opening night note:
During the Arts Walk reception, artist Barbara Berk will be featured in a performance of creation as she sits upon a pedestal with pencil and pad in hand, and transforms the imagery and motion around her into fixed form for the linear record.
The Organic Line
January 9 - February 27, 2010
Opening Reception Saturday January 9, 6-10pm
Arts Walk Reception Saturday, February 13, 6-10pm
