The Racine Art Museum Invites Nine Artists to Explore 'Space'

Written by Clarice Stromboli Sunday, 19 June 2011 22:13

Racine, WI.- The Racine Art Museum is pleased to present "Field of Vision: Artists Explore Place", on view until October 2nd. Our feelings or memories about a place are formed by how a location (beach, forest, field, building) feels, not just by how it looks. Details are often minimized by overall thoughts and impressions—sounds, textures, light, and smells. The nine artists represented in Field of Vision respond to and explore their perceptions of “place” through carved wax flowers, hanging plants made of porcelain paper clay, atmospheric paintings on mirrored glass, and jewelry referencing landscapes. Approaches to representing place are as varied as the artists that create them—involving detailed observations, emotional responses, abstract elements and the imagination. Reactions to the environment are mediated through personal experiences as well as through social and cultural frameworks.

Field of Vision features the work of nine emerging and established artists who are creating tangible responses to the intangible ideas evoked by a “place.“ They combine time consuming and laborious processes—such as quilling and cutting paper into floral, plant, and decorative forms, carving wax flowers, or granulating gold—with both atmospheric and intimate views of the environment. The spaces these artists address are not always specified; they could be a seascape or cloud formation, garden path or mountain horizon, manicured landscape or wild nature. Lauren Fensterstock (Maine) cuts and quills black paper into compositions that reference the manipulated landscapes of formal gardens and the architectural quality of floral forms and grasslands. Her intent is to draw attention to the tension between human beings and nature—that we can simultaneously nurture it and attempt to control it. The paper, formed into elaborate decorative curlicues that resemble petals and flowers or cut into blades and leaves, is offset by charcoal—a reference to earth. Additionally, our view of nature is mediated by a reflective surface that throws emphasis back on the “viewer” and reinforces the hand of the human in the natural world. Using model railroad elements as the “jewels” for silver neckpieces and rings, Sarah Hood (Washington) creates adornment that suggests life-size landscapes in miniature form. Rather than the typical formula — where human bodies occupy sections of earth — Hood creates a context where trees and bushes take up space on a wearer’s body. Her interest in combining the natural world with jewelry has been ongoing as she has used actual leaves, seeds and pods in her work for years. Hood turned to the artificial model railroad trees and bushes because they have the potential to create an illusion, and therefore, encourage contemplation. Drawn to wax for the way it interacts with light and for its metaphorical associations with decay, corporeality, and fragility, Jolynn Krystosek (New York) creates exquisitely carved wax wall pieces. Her works simultaneously evoke historical still life paintings, botanical illustrations and cameo pendants. Her opulent bouquets suggest a quiet mortality, their temporal nature connecting to the life cycles of all organic things, including human beings. Krystosek also plays on the sheer enchantment of the material, drawing viewers into a conversation about the connection between humans and nature.

Arranged in shapes that evoke architectural ornamentation, Beverly Penn’s (Texas) cast bronze weeds subtly remind us again of that connection. The use of organic forms to design ornamentation has a long, multicultural history. Beverly  Penn manipulates elements drawn from the landscape (weeds are gathered from commercial construction sites and cast in bronze) has been practiced for centuries. Here, however, she uses it as a part of a complex investigation into how we mediate nature. The natural and cultural landscapes of Colombia inform the textile works of Olga de Amaral (Colombia). She manipulates fiber, metallic leaf and other materials into woven wall hangings with patterns that suggest natural topographies and phenomena. Their colors relate to memory and metaphor. For example, blue relates to the artist’s recollection of painted stucco walls in her native Colombia, while gold suggests “power, pain, patriotism and mysticism.” She blends emotion with memories of and admiration for her homeland. Strips of fiber and cotton as well as gold and silver leaf suggest rivers, waterfalls, sunrises and curves of the earth. Nicole Chesney (Rhode Island) explores the luminous qualities of air and water as she creates poetic works using oil paint and glass. Chesney’s “images” evoke horizon lines, shadows and light reflections that are so atmospheric they seem impossible to contain in a finite format. Underscoring her knowledge of the metaphorical qualities of light and space as well as the practical possibilities of glass, Chesney responds to the writings of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard who rhapsodized about the emotional qualities of a “profound sky.”

The waxed linen and metal works of Mary Giles (Minnesota) reference topographical forms and evoke the light and shape of elements in the natural landscape. The reflective qualities of the copper and iron that Giles attaches to interior crevices or exterior surfaces echo the play of sunlight on water while also suggesting textures and layers. Identifying her work as an interpretation and expression of her “concerns about the environment and the human condition,” Giles refrains from overt depictions of a landscape. Her work emphasizes form and beauty, and registers as an emotional response to an experienced topography. Rebecca Hutchinson (Massachusetts) creates ethereal installations that suggest biomorphic forms, such as flowers and plants. Using paper clay (a type of clay that includes bits of paper that burn out during firing), in combination with other materials such as clay slip, hand cut paper or fibrous threads, Hutchinson explores the “diverse states of existence” in nature. She is concerned with how organisms grow and thrive in changing conditions and how this relates metaphorically to the human condition. The process of constructing her site-related installations involves layers of complexity that also mimic natural states. Harold O’Connor (Colorado) combines natural materials, such as spectrolite and beach pebbles, with time-honored metalsmithing techniques, such as granulation (the coalescence of individual beads into a texture) to create compositions that suggest mountains, streams, rocks and the geography of the land. With a degree in anthropology, O’Connor responds to landscapes and their connection to idea and form. His compositions remind viewers of the awe-inspiring diversity and texture of the earth and embody the essence of place. The artists of Field of Vision create rich and varied compositions inspired by landscape, light and space. These works are substantial without being directly representational. Conceptually, they both depend upon and explore the relationship between human beings and the natural world.

The Racine Art Museum houses one of North America's most significant collections of contemporary crafts. With a permanent collection of more than 5,000 objects, half of these pieces represent the museum's focus on contemporary crafts from internationally recognized artists in ceramics, fibers, glass, metals and wood. The remaining items in the collection are a combination of 1930s art from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, which was the museum's first acquisition, along with works on paper, paintings and sculpture. Presenting work from artists who create meaningful statements in craft media, RAM dispels any differentiation between fine arts and crafts and between the artist and the craftsperson. Exhibitions at RAM emphasize ideas behind the artwork, rather than following strict media categories. RAM also plays a vital role in arts education through Wustum Museum, where it offers community outreach programs, studio art classes and workshops taught by regionally and nationally known artists working in craft media. Award winning Chicago-based architects Brininstool + Lynch reinvented the downtown Racine space into a 46,000 square foot museum designed specifically for RAM's permanent collection. RAM is one of the first museums to use flat screen video monitors in place of traditional informational and exhibit signage. In 1938, Jennie E. Wustum donated her house, property and a small trust fund to the City of Racine to establish an art museum and park in memory of her husband, Charles. Formally founded in 1941, the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts grew from a small collection of WPA-era art into an impressive contemporary craft collection. The collection continued to outgrow the Wustum Museum until only about 10% of it could be exhibited in one year. The Racine Art Museum is located in downtown Racine, Wisconsin, a historic community on the shores of Lake Michigan. Racine is a city with a tradition of supporting art and architecture. It is home to Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Wax Administration Building, as well as several Frank Lloyd Wright homes including Wingspread, which was built for the Johnson family. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.ramart.org

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