Relief |

"SLURP" Courtesy of the artist Simone di Bagno

A Group Show curated by Laura Jean Zito
1 – 15th March 2010

With an opening reception Thursday, March 4th, 6-8pm

Featuring Simone di Bagno, Ronald Berlin,

Linus Coraggio, Phillip de Loach ,

Annelies van Dommelen, Kelly Irwin, Barbara Keogh,

Stephanie Magdziak, Susanne Pitak Davis,

Stacie Speer Scott, Miguel Osorio, and Laura Jean Zito

The secret garden of abstraction that is the artists’ province, the gulf linking the shores of reality and fantasy, can be seen as a space of relief… from the cares of diurnal demands as well as from an abandonment to escapism. It is the realm that dreams are made of, where artists rearrange objects from mundane concerns into whimsical reinterpretations of their perceptions. Life always provides a layer of abstraction whether we notice it or not, and artists always remind us of its presence. Reality is not always the thing which it appears to be, and dreams are not always so fantastical as they might seem at first. It’s all how you see it…. which filter of understanding you bring to it…a process of dissecting and rebuilding.

The word RELIEF itself has so many meanings: a raised surface, extra breathing space, cares lifted away, sheaths removed to make way for a purer form, new growth, spiritual help, added layers of matter and meaning…”

Susanne Pitak Davis’s “Angel in a Flight of Fancy” leads the way on a journey into these artists’ imaginative meanderings. Annelies van Dommelen’s “All is Well At Noon” is a calming assemblage of everyday objects elevated from the mundane by a bit of embossing. Stacie Speer Scott looking out an Italian window abstracts the lovely landscape, then sums up her Italian experience in a delightful cornucopia of memories. Barbara Keogh’s “Gourdian Knot” reflects on the nature of relationships, while her “Pineapple Friends” suggests her crusty characters have one. Their rough exteriors render Ron Berlin’s “Swimmer” all the more naked as do the gnarly barks of Stephanie Magdziak’s “Copper Beech” and “Pine Tree.” The wood of found objects is deemed holy by Phillip de Loach’s “Prayer Box,” and accentuated by Scott’s “The Rose.” Kelly Irwin’s “High Class Beach,” a photo of a luxury tire buried in the sand, examines found objects with irony. Simone di Bagno’s “Suck It Up” playfully conceptualizes relief literally and figuratively. Miguel Osorio juxtaposes marine elements in an elegantly-hued collage to create “The Reef.” Laura Jean Zito suggests abstraction using reality itself, in ”The Red Sea.” Linus Coraggio shows the ever-changing nature of reality in “West Side Highway Before the George Washington Bridge.” “In his metal sculpture made from found objects, such as “Double-Afro Piston Head,” reality is turned on its head to be viewed as something entirely unexpected. His motorcycles made from food blenders and other work can be viewed on his website, www.linuscoraggio.com.

The other artists’ websites are as follows: www.vandommelenart.com, www.stephaniemagdziak.com, www.bakeogh.com, www.staciespeerscott.com, www.miguelosorio.com Laura jean Zito has images on www.photoworkshop.com.