The b.j. spoke gallery in Huntington announced the winners of a special exhibition of works created by 18 artists who entered EXPO 36, the 2017 national competition.
These artists were selected by Jennifer Harris, curatorial assistant at the Museum of Modern Art.
The b. j. spoke gallery asked Harris to choose several pieces from each artist to create 18 mini-solo exhibits so that the skill and creativity of the winners is emphasized.
The works are executed using diverse media including fabric, collage, photography, and paint, and will be on view from Wednesday, March 1 to Sunday, March 26.
There will also be a public reception for EXPO 36 on Saturday, March 5 from 6 to 9 p.m.
The 2017 EXPO 36 winners are:
David Anderson of Nashville, Tenn.
Linda Atkinson of Fincastle, Va.
Lauren Eve Skelly Bailey of East Meadow
Zachary Chomyszak of Philadelphia, Penn.
Barry Eitel of Ottawa, Calif.
Nicholas Fedak II of Burbank, Calif.
Lisa Federici of Wantagh
Chloe Feldman Emison of Cambridge, Mass.
Candice Flewharty of Norwich, Conn.
Linda Gleitz of Longmont, Colo.
Jay Goldklang of Marietta, Ga.
Jason Gorbel of Freeport
Simon Hickey of St. James
Teresa Jarzynski of Bethesda
Erin Karp of New York
Frances Kuehn of New York
Ashley McClelland of Flint, Texas
Leslie Pontz of Phildelphia, Penn.
In describing his work, photographer Gorbel said, “I work with vintage cameras and black and white film to give my photographs a flavor that I believe is lost with the unnaturally flawless images produced by modern digital equipment.”
“My recent work can be thought of as still life painting,” Kuehn says. “The subjects are clothing, seen close-up, often only fragmented to emphasize details of texture, and they are not always explicitly identifiable. Making a still life arrangement is very similar to making an abstract sculpture or assemblage. Sometimes I have been interested in accidental arrangements, but most often the arrangements are deliberate and considered. Since my subjects are textiles and they are painted on canvas, there is a kind of visual punning of painting illusionary fabric on real fabric.”
Goldklang stated, “The Images submitted are part of a current series called Natural History. They represent layers, transitions and adaptations in physical and non-physical realms. The works begin with explicit (geologic=material) forms, which are merely the outward surface appearance of contained and ongoing dynamic processes. It is from deep below the surface that forces are constantly shaping these outward appearances. Once exposed, effects of other external forces, continue to shape the forms. They are not static. The organic elements in the works (fish, shell, moth) represent the spiritual element in its own state of growth and adaptation. Subject to other types of deep, unseen and ongoing forces, the invisible, non-material self continues to respond in its own way in order to survive and persevere in the world.”
Federici describes her work, “In my latest body of work focuses on parts of human anatomy created from sewn together recycled sari silks. The vibrant silk sari ribbon is made from silk remnants found on the floors of sari factories in India. I allow the silks to bend, fold, bleed, and fray, as they want. I leave the threads loose, hanging, and free to move to represent the fluidity and linear quality of veins and capillaries in the human body. I am interested in visually depicting the internal workings of the human body. I am deeply committed to exploring the connection and dichotomy between craft, sewing, and fine art, as well as women and their role in society. By using recycled ribbons and sewing them by machine into rudimentary facsimiles of human anatomy I am playing with the juxtaposition of traditional women’s role and modern technologies.”
And Anderson said, “The paintings I am currently making reflect time spent in meditation and stillness. A slow approach to color and surface bring attention to subtleties in relationships of the hand and the implied perfection of a shape. I am most interested in creating a space of calmness and contemplation as colors and line unifying through subtle variations.”
The b. j. spoke gallery is located at 299 Main Street in Huntington.
For more details, go to www.bjspokegallery.org
