Joshua Olivera presented at Gallery at 6th & 6th

Thursday, 27 September 2007 21:33

Tucson, AZ - The Gallery at 6th & 6th, in Tucson, AZ begins their fall season with “Joshua Olivera: Sweetwater Series.” These mixed media on wood panels are the personification of the struggle between man and nature in process and form. They stand as a metaphor to mankind’s interactions with the natural world, and the often beautiful forms and patterns that can arise from the convergence or collision of opposing elements.

To literally and figuratively explore this theme, Olivera employs wood stains and finishes, resins, charcoal, acrylic paints, and many other materials and chemicals that intrinsically work against one another. The oil-bases repel water; the man-made chemicals break down organic matter. Without formula, Olivera opens himself up to the process and to responding to the reactions of combining such disparate elements. Despite the painstaking effort of working with these materials, his philosophy is authentically articulated in the process. He combines disharmonious materials to create harmony.

Fascinated with the ability of the earth to adapt when forced to respond to human tampering, Olivera says: “Even as people attempt to control nature in order to utilize the earth to satisfy their needs and wants, nature continuously shifts to accommodate these changes. The environment spontaneously alters itself against rupture, creating something visually new and beautiful.” His paintings, with their steel frames and complex passages of reaction and interaction, provide unique insight into this precarious balance.

 The opening reception for Joshua Olivera’s “Sweetwater Series” will be Saturday, October 6, 2007, from 6 – 9 pm. The artist will speak about his work at the gallery on Sunday, October 7, at 2:00 pm.

The Gallery at 6^th & 6^th specializes in American Modernism from the 1940s forward. The gallery represents living artists as well as some estates, but the emphasis is mainly on abstract works. Many of the artists are from the east and of national renown. All of the works are investment quality. Exhibitions run for two months, are professionally curated, have a catalogue, and include an Art Talk by a guest speaker, often a museum curator.

This fall the gallery is participating in OSAT’s Art International: A Fine Art Fair in San Francisco and Pasadena, bringing works by Curt Brill, Ludvic, Michio Takayama, Bohdan Osyczka, and Ulfert Wilke.

All works can be previewed on the gallery website: www.sixthandsixth.com For further information, contact the gallery at (520) 903-0650.