Abstraction of the ordinary

Abstr action of the Or dinar y: A gr oup show of contempor ar y photogr aphy June 8 ? July 8, 2017

Published by Arte Ponte www.arteponte.org 1st edition Š June 2017 All rights served Printed in U SA

Arte Ponte Gallery presents ? Abstraction of The Ordinary?, a group show with a focus on contemporary photography. The inaugural show will open in Chelsea June 8th and shall run until July 8th, 2017. The exhibit showcases nine established and emerging international artists presenting a new perspective: a new life to the ordinary by shifting the point of view and introducing a world of abstraction.

Complete List of Artists: Manss Aval | San Diego, CA McCor mick Br ubak er | Menands, NY Mar ina Fr idman | Alfred, NY Phil ippe Hal abur da |Brooklyn, NY Al yssia Lazin | Sarasota, FL Bobbi McMur r y | Phoenix, AZ Uma Rani Iyl i | Portola Valley, CA Ajuan Song |Brooklyn, NY Rober t Ur icchio | Pleasantville, NY

Abstraction of the Ordinary encapsulates the diversity of the ?human lens,? encouraging visitors to question their impressions of the ordinary. The show features both photography and cross-disciplinary techniques; where artists influenced and inspired by different subject matters, who present their own vision of the world.

In her series Q-tip Connections, the Bangalore/ Indian born Uma Rani Iyli photographs everyday objects that act as brushes; colorful artworks inspired by the traditional Indian sari. The connecting Q-tips symbolize the networks people make with each other, giving the mundane object new meaning and eternal life.

Similarly working within abstraction, Alyssia Lazin transform the ordinary into an extraordinary visual experience. It is via her process that the transformed images do not appear as they are but as they are felt, processed and remembered.

Photography is known as a tool to capture a moment in time. Bobbi McMurry immortalizes the life of flowers in Eternal, where she explores the conflicting nature of clinging to the transient.

Similarly, Marina Fridman?s yoga practice and meditation motivated her use of photography to capture eternity in a single moment. As an interdisciplinary artist, she aims to show the transformation of everyday objects and materials into perfection-altering experiences.

MacCormick Brubaker?s thirty years of experience in photography influenced his unique technique of melding photography with post-production; he masterfully translates the world of motion into a still image while keeping it dynamic. The abundance of movement is a characteristic also found in works by Ajuan Song. Her work is created from chaos; it is through the conflict and interaction of lines, shapes, and tones that Song builds a dreamland.

Manss Aval takes a more scientific approach to his image making. Though methodical in technique, his works appear mystical; the landscapes are built by overlapping intervals of space and time, marrying the familiar with the impossible. His works take the position of a neutral observer as he brings to life the complexities of string theory, which suggests individuals in one universe can have a counterpart existing in another and sharing characteristics.

In contrast, the works of Robert Uricchio and Philippe Halaburda find inspiration and evidence of universal unity in the organic abstraction of nature. Uricchio?s sources of inspiration are found in the colours, surfaces, and forms that are already present in nature. Capturing his individual point of view is just as important as the act of sharing his personal perspective with the audience. Halaburda, whose art is also motivated by nature, developed his own aesthetic and poetic expression in such a way that demonstrates his exploration of the relationship between humankind and the environment.

The show opening is 6pm Thursday, 8th June 2017, on the 7th floor at the 529W 20th Street, New York NY 10011 Curated by Victoria Borisova.

Artist Statements and Photos will appear in following order: ManssAval | San Diego, CA Marina Fridman | Alfred, NY Alyssia Lazin | Sarasota, FL McCormick Brubaker | Menands, NY Bobbi McMurry | Phoenix, AZ Robert Uricchio| Pleasantville, NY Ajuan Song | Brooklyn, NY Uma Rani Iyli | Portola Valley, CA PhilippeHalaburda | Brooklyn, NY

M anss A val San D iego, CA I construct mystic landscapes with overlapping intervals of space and time that represent the familiar with the alluring and possible. One series seeks to elucidate dreamscapes and the space postulated by cosmology: string theory suggests individuals in one universe can have a counterpart in other sharing characteristics.

Parallel universes may also intersect facilitating travel between these bubbles. My works represent the position of a neutral observer recording these events. My perspective levitates between fantasy and mysterious quantum space, leaving room for meditative explorations of familiar memories, dreams and perhaps alien realities.

Seminegative, 2016 Archival print on brushed aluminum 30 x 30 in (76,2 x 76,2 cm)

M ar ina Fr idm an A lfred, N Y I am interested in what is beyond our sight, beyond our perception. In the impossibility of imagining the 4th dimension, and in what it would look like if we could. In the nature of consciousness. In the empty space that we are made of. In the incomprehensible vastness of our own bodies. In the 70 trillion cells that make up each and every one of us. In the almost non-existent probability of us existing at all. In what it would look like to step out of time and view an entire cycle of life, from birth until death, all at once.

In my work I explore unanswerable questions pertaining to our perceptions of time, space, reality and mortality. By posing and exploring these questions, I strive to expand both my own consciousness and that of my audience.

The Ephemer al Rush I, 2017 Digital inkjet print 16 x 20 in (40,64 x 50,8 cm)

I often draw on my practices of yoga and meditation, during which I experience surreal sensations of such weightlessness that I feel as though I am made of pure energy.

This is a dramatic shift from the often uncomfortable heaviness and solidity of my body that I also experience, and causes me to question and explore the relationship between physical presence and ephemeral experience in my work.

The Ephemer al Rush IV, 2017 Digital inkjet print 16 x 20 in (40,64 x 50,8 cm)

The alchemical process that occurs during my yoga practice is mimicked in my artistic practice through the transformation of everyday objects and materials into perception- altering experiences. Magnifying lenses mimic crystal and glass, flickering as though in and out of existence. Broken bricks are overgrown with ethereal crystal formations, transforming the mundane into something of awe. Shattered mirror fragments reflect light to create spiritual totems that begin to speak to something greater than one?s physical self. Typically disregarded materials such as concrete and plaster gauze shed their associations and begin to wrinkle and sag, alluding to having lived a life.

Through the transformation of materials, I seek to dislocate the known to redirect one?s attention toward the unknown, or unknowable. These crumbling, formerly utilitarian objects and materials become points of entry into existential questions.

A lyssia L azin Sarasot a, FL As an art photographer, I am searching to transform the ordinary into an extraordinary visual experience. In seeing the poetry in everyday life, my painterly approach has been influenced by abstract artists. In abstraction one finds the richness of form, texture, color and light thus is thrown into another perception where one pauses to ponder, reflect and contemplate. Transformed images do not appear as they are but as they are felt, processed and remembered.

This painterly move enhances the formalist approach. In the literal sense, that which was in the background moves forward and the foreground becomes the backdrop. Here is where a heightened sense of mystery begins.

More recently I have added the portrait to contrast the abstracted images. The portraits enhance the images, complement them and create a visual conversation. These diptychs and triptychs create the world of conceptual storytelling. It is this contradiction that results in a mysterious reality.

Betw een Fol ds, 2017 Photography 35 x 29 in (88.9 x 73.66 cm)

M cCor m ick Br ubaker M enands, N Y These photos were created through my own technique of melding photography with post-production work. My efforts here are to reveal a world in motion.

This is a world brimming with life, animated by flowing lines and colors with shapes exceeding their ordinary boundaries. It is an exciting new world, unbounded by the camera that records what I see.

RED, 2016 Archival InkJet print 15 x 50 in (38.1 x 127 cm)

GEHRY, 2016 Archival InkJet print 15 x 50 in (38.1 x 127 cm)

Bobbi M cM ur ry Phoenix, A Z Eternal The passage of time has heightened my awareness to the transitory nature of life. As my children ?leave the nest?, I struggle with the changes wrought when I would prefer some to remain frozen at specific points.

By freezing living things, in this case, flowers, my work explores the conflicting nature of trying to hold onto the transient. It shows the contradictions inherent in attempting to preserve ephemeral moments, which cannot be caged and tamed, often with unexpected intrigue that unfolds naturally.

By freely abandoning myself to indulge in the fantasy of freezing moments, I provide my audience the seldom gained experience of viewing the transitory as eternal.

Eter nal 10, 2016

Eter nal 12, 2016

Eter nal 14, 2016

Photo mounted under glossy acrylic glass 24 x 18 in (61 x 46 cm)

Photo mounted under glossy acrylic glass 24 x 18 in (61 x 46 cm)

Photo mounted under glossy acrylic glass 24 x 18 in (61 x 46 cm)

Rober t Ur icchio Pleasant ville, N Y Dancing Rippl es, 2012, photography print

Photography, for me, is more than simply attempting to capture a moment or place in time. I am a person who loves nature and being outdoors. Nature inspires me. Photography is the medium I choose to present my inspiration of nature to my audience... to inspire my audience as nature inspires me.

The green of the trees, the sound of a flowing river or nearby stream, the blue of the sky, the red of the earth....these are the elements that make me feel completely whole in nature. I use my camera as a tool to capture my contentment in nature and share it with my audience.

It is clear we all have our own vision. I see things in nature that no one else may see and I use photography to capture those things in life that are my personal vision, like the patterns and colors of frozen ice crystals or of autumn leaves reflecting off of a body of water. It is my goal as an artist to share my vision with the world and to capture details that no one else may see exactly as I do. And, it is true, that when someone is looking at my work he will see things that I did not see. I am then forced to see what I did not through the eyes of my own audience. That is the joy of photography for me. To create a personal vision, put it out into the world, and to reflect on what others see from my work.

19 x 25 in (48.26 x 63.5 cm)

Str eaming, 2013 photography print 19 x 25 in (48.26 x 63.5 cm)

Ice Cr ystal s, 2010, photography print 19 x 25 in (48.26 x 63.5 cm)

Monochromatic colors, surfaces and forms of nature play a huge roll in my recent work. The more I film the details of nature the more abstract nature becomes. The more abstract it becomes the clearer my vision is that nature is made of fragmented, abstract elements that as a whole create a world of undiscovered endless beauty.

Through my images I hope to share with you some of that beauty and the splendor and freedom of nature and the outdoors that I have experienced and enable you to bring a piece of it into your world.

Mor ning Cr ystal s, 2010 photography print 19 x 25 in (48.26 x 63.5 cm)

A juan Song Brooklyn, N Y

Ajuan Song?s work is formed from chaos: its lines, shapes, and tones fight, conform and interact with one another. Her passion for the medium grew from the need to break free of a childhood shaped by discipline and conformity. Making her images, she is Alice in the wonderland. The works are the projections of artist?s dreamland. They represent the liberation of her mind and heart, a release from silence. They are the philosophy in Song?s soul that connect her inner world to the outside one.

From left to right: Ever ything you k now about l ove 01 2016 Chemigram 13 x 16 in (33 x 41 cm) Ever ything you k now about l ove 02 2016 Chemigram 13 x 16 in (33 x 41 cm)

Uma Rani I yli Por tola Valley, CA

Inspired by process, Q-tips serve as a continuum for me as they are everyday tools in both my domestic and professional realms.

Through their role in my art, they are immersed in the colors inspired by traditional Sari?s and transformed into beautiful objects after being used as brushes for my paintings. Being open to all media, the Q-tip Connections Series resulted from what could have been discarded material from my studio practice. W ith a background in installation, I naturally look to material for inspiration.

Seeing these remnants of my process as powerful symbols of connection inspired me to capture these colorful networks of Q-tips with curiosity through photography. Conceptually, these networks of Q-tips are about networking with people and making connections. Developing them with a contemporary photographic aesthetic helps tie them to the world of art & tech and makes these delicate arrangements accessible to viewers while carrying elements of my heritage and of past worlds.

From left to right: Q-tip Connection-Pur pl e Gol d 2 2016 Photography 30 x 30 in (Framed 32x32 in)/ 81 x 81 cm Q-tip Connection-Gr een Gol d 2016 Photography 30 x 30 in (Framed 32x32 in)/ 81 x 81 cm

Philippe H alaburda Brooklyn, N Y The quest of my unconscious territories My abstract painting engages with the urban surroundings environment and calls upon emotional framework as a construct to bring the viewer inside his own subconscious. Based on emotions, feelings or memories from my direct experiences, my work delves into the complex undercurrents of intimate and collective relationships.

As I am interested in the randomness of cities and their relationship to human experience, I create imaginary topographies that draw on my memory and experiences, but always working in an instinctual way. I have no preconceived notion of the end products when I begin to paint and rely on my instinct for shapes and color.

Obbjes, 2016 Photography 20 x 20 in / 51 x 51 cm

I work abstractly and quickly, and I find that the result is always still an expression of myself and my psychological state and surroundings. I am influenced by the different light and colors in my environment and my color palette changes as I travel and work.

Paintings, abstracted photos and digital artworks try to address broader the emotional structures within myself in an attempt to examine contradiction, equilibrium and harmony of my psychological state.

I use forms and lines to suggest relationships, but prefer abstraction, as the viewer can find their own meaning in my artistic activity. On any kind of medium, I create imaginary coded and abstract algorithms taking up mental, geographic and collective data that I discover with each new creation. I am seeking to perfect this technique and my process. The titles of my creations are the result of this tracking by creating a new language.

My work and my language constantly evolve: since I am living and working In New York, it has begun to become more mathematical, minimal, conceptual and graphic.

It keeps focusing on the quest of my own unlimited and unconscious psychological territories.

Tr r es, 2016 Photography 20 x 20 in / 51 x 51 cm

A bout Us Address ARTE PONTE Gallery is part of the Arte Ponte NGO organisation.

Venice, Italy

Palazzo Croner Spinelli ARTE PONTE is a Swiss non-profit association and institute that supports its members who are emerging and established visual artists, curators, designers and architects as well as and professionals within the art-world by fostering connections to a network of opportunities. Since 2009, the association has been promoting artists during selected art fairs in Paris, Venice, New York, Miami, Basel and Austria.

ARTE PONTE is present in three countries; with administrative offices in Basel, Switzerland; its global HQ (as of Jan 2017) cultural institute and exhibition space is in Venice, in Palazzo Corner Spinelli; and since 2013 in New York, where Arte Ponte hosts exhibitions with support of JanKossen Contemprary gallery in Chelsea, for selected curated exhibitions during Summer.

San Marco, 30124 Venice, Italy USA

529 W 20th St, 7th floor New York, NY 10011, United States

Contact Email: hello@arteponte.org

I M PR ESSU M CONCEPT, EDITING, AND REALIZATION Jasmin Kossenjans DESIGN Victoria Borisova PHOTOGRAPHY Provided by Artists TEXT Provided by Artists

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by no means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

Published by Arte Ponte Cultural Institute www.arteponte.org 1st edition Š June 2017 All rights served Printed in U SA