November 5 – December 7, 2018
Artist Talk:  November 15, 11:30am – 12:30pm

SOPHISTICATED CHAOS

Inspired by scenes of complex forms, this exhibition of watercolor paintings uses structures as a vehicle to explore the physicality of material, technique and subject. Pushing the boundaries of watercolor, these works merge art, design and architecture which dissolve into varying levels of abstraction. The painting approach is as much a part of the work as the subject—with marks, drips and splatters all becoming part of the final piece. The results are images that are bold yet beautiful, muscular yet elegant, suggestive and evocative.

Originally from Chicago, Ken Karlic studied architecture, painting and graphic design at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and received a BFA. He is a founding partner of the Baltimore-based graphic design firm Splice Design and teaches painting workshops nationally. Ken lives and works in Bel Air, Maryland.

Ken regularly exhibits throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and participates in national juried plein air competitions including Plein Air Easton, Door County Plein Air and Cape Ann Plein Air. He has recently been featured in The Art of Watercolour, PleinAir Magazine, Fine Art Today and Voyage Chicago. In addition, Ken wrote, “Sophisticated Chaos with DANIEL SMITH Watercolors, Step by Step Painting Large Scale” for Daniel Smith Art Materials, which was distributed to their global community of professional artists, retailers and distributors.

October 1 – 27, 2018
Artist Talk/Reception: Thursday, October 11, 11:30am-12:30pm

 Spirit of the Day offers viewers an essential yet often forgotten engagement—a deeper connection with their own spirit in the contemporary busy society. The paintings present a moment of this spiritual engagement through mindfully cultivated marks on the surface. Sumi-ink brings out subtle and nuanced shifts in values and highlights a myriad of layers so that viewers may lost in them and find the core of humanity.

Spirit of the Day

 “When I say ‘I am’, I am really including everyone else. We are all connected.”

– Nishiki Sugawara-Beda

Nishiki Sugawara-Beda cultivates feelings of honest connection in Spirit of the Day. Sugawara-Beda draws from Japanese culture and language, her own immigration experience, and family life to create these works. Her paintings are exercises in spiritual connection and mindfulness. The artist works in Sumi ink, a staple in Japanese calligraphy. This choice was made largely to hold fast to Japanese culture after moving to the United States. She remembers fondly the slow, laborious practice of making Sumi ink, which is done before one practices calligraphy and serves doubly as meditative preparation for the practice.

In earlier works, the artist uses Sumi ink to draw Japanese characters without picking up the brush, creating an abstract form from line and value. In time, the process evolved to create the lines and subsequent forms without drawing the characters, only by thinking of certain words and phrases.

Through this practice, Sugawara-Beda creates a medium through which she can communicate honestly with viewers. The paintings serve as an opportunity for viewers to engage meditatively with Sugawara-Beda. By getting lost in the lines, viewers see what they wish, learning about both themselves and the artist.

Spirit of the Day is on view in the Merion Hall gallery through October 27, 2018.

~ Devon D’Andrea ‘20
Gallery Exhibition Research Assistant

Inaugural & Hana
22″×30″, Sumi ink and acrylic on paper mounted on wood, 2017/2016

Inaugural, a series characterized by the color blue, was created when Sugawara-Beda became a new mother. After giving birth, the artist had to redefine herself as an artist and a person. These works explore the feelings of excitement and uncertainty associated with new motherhood while staying true to her core process. Additionally, this series is exemplary of Sugawara-Beda’s earlier works, when her process included drawing words and phrases before creating the line.

In contrast, Hana, “flower” in Japanese, did not start with written words. Instead, the artist remembered a story about a Zen teacher and his students.

“Traditionally, Zen practice is learned by question and answer between students and a teacher. One day, a teacher gathered his students, and they all stood ready to receive a question, but the teacher stood there in front of the students, holding a flower and smiling. Eventually, all of the students started to smile, too.”  – Nishiki Sugawara-Beda

For the artist, Hana serves to communicate a positive feeling. With bright pinks and plunging lines, viewers feel a sense of contented peace.

How We See It
39.5″×141″, Sumi ink and acrylic on paper mounted on wood, 2018

This piece is a whole greater than the sum of its parts. For Sugawara-Beda, it was a study in her process. It is entirely abstract, and its interpretation is meant to be fluid. Viewers should see what they want to see in the painting. The artist wishes for the piece to serve as a tool in meditation. To engage with it is to engage with oneself and all of humanity.

~ Devon D’Andrea ‘20
Gallery Exhibition Research Assistant

August 20 – September 20, 2018
Artist Talk: September 20, 11:30am – 12:30pm
ALL ARE WELCOME!

Z is a collection of nude ambrotype portraits working with transgender, cisgender, and a spectrum of genderqueer and gender non-conforming individuals. Through Z, I aim to deconstruct conventions of the nude body towards more diverse representations. The title of the collection refers to a proposed gender neutral pronoun.

Each image records a collaborative dialogue between model and photographer that develops over the course of a shoot. These conversations consider the power dynamics of the photographic gaze, the ambiguities of gender performance and embodiment, and the complex intersection of vulnerability and empowerment that arise when one’s body is read as “queer”. Through these portraits I cultivate a connection between subject and viewer that transcends the normative categories of “man” and “woman”, leaving space for the nuances of personhood that remain when these categories dissolve.

I use the 19th century Wet-Plate Collodion process with contemporary subjects as a revision to historic representations of gender non-conforming people. Gender variance has always existed, but Victorian photographers routinely medicalized and pathologized their images, perpetuating a visual violence that fragments, dehumanizes and fetishizes queer bodies. The images in Z are conceived as reparative acts,  superimposing new imagery into the gaps left by history.

The timeliness of transgender visibility in mainstream media makes Z an urgent body of work to reach a wider audience. Recent federal legislation limiting transgender Military service, and discriminatory bathroom bills passed in several cities and states, have highlighted the need for further social and legislative change to achieve full inclusion and equality. Towards this goal I channel a photographic process that creates intimacy; a powerful tool to advance a worldview that is open, malleable and accepting of diversity.

ARTIST INFO:

Name: Rowan Renee

Preferred Pronouns: They/Them

Website: http://rowanrenee.com

Instagram: @brooklyntintype

Artist Bio: Rowan Renee is a genderqueer artist whose work explores themes of gender and power. Renee has received awards from The Aaron Siskind Foundation, The Rema Hort Mann Foundation and The Anchorage Museum of Art. Previous solo exhibitions include “Z” at Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation (2015) and “Bodies of Wood” (2017) at The Aperture Foundation. They have received fellowships from The Jerome Foundation, the McColl Center for Visual Art and the Ossian Arts Fellowship at the Jain Family Institute. They have been profiled on NPR, in The New York Times, VICE, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, American Photo Magazine and Guernica, among many other publications. They are currently living between Brooklyn, New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

August 20 – September 25, 2018

Artist Talk/Reception: September 25, 11:30am – 12:30pm
ALL ARE WELCOME

This piece, “I Want a Yellow House with a White Picket Fence” reflects on the American dream. This environment creates a type of mystical realism, similar to the environment pictured in the pieces by Charles Burchfield. Burchfield painted many townscapes, and nature scenes inspiring Ydeen. Within Ydeen’s pieces, there are not many people pictured, and he tries to focus on lighting and architectural design. So many people desire a home with a white picket fence, this abandoned looking town shows a broken idea. The light coming from the bedroom window is the only sign of life emitted from the piece. The nighttime scene isolates a specific vignette, and creates something that you could not get from daytime photography.

Peter Ydeen moved to Easton based on recommendations from a client. Although this is a medium sized city, Easton is between the major cities of New York City and Philadelphia. When he arrived into the city, Ydeen believed that the city had a sort of dislike towards humankind and avoided society in general. It seemed to be almost lost in time, and only related with the people nearby. After living in the town for a while, he realized that was not the truth. Rather, he believes that the town has a strong influence of Americana. These influences play through in many aspects of the town. From local businesses displaying American flags in their windows to the rebirth and repurpose of old town buildings. Although the commonality of Americana today is dwindling, it has become an important part of Ydeen’s work. Through his photographed materials, he created place that makes you feel you have visited this classic small town on the outskirts of two large cities. Ydeen accomplishes this by paying close attention to the lighting, and architectural layouts of Easton. The idea of taking the photos at night shows to be important in isolating the personal private spaces, and showing the importance of spatial lighting.

~ Gabriella Youshock, Gallery Exhibition Research Assistant