CRAZY BEAUTIFUL III

K E N I S E B AR N E S F I N E AR T

Crazy Beautiful III June 8 – July 28, 2018

Crazy Beautiful III Jackie Battenfield Rachel Hellerich Mary Judge Jenny Kemp Molly McCracken Kumar Catherine Latson Joanne Mattera Peter Pincus Janna Watson

detail: Under A Cloud cs2

opposite: Jackie Battenfield Under A Cloud cs2, 2017 acrylic on mylar mounted on panel 41.25 x 61.25 inches (framed) $10,500 (mounted and framed)

Susan English, studio view

JACKIE BATTENFIELD

STATEMENT

Intimate Meditations on Landscape While Looking Up My fascination with painting trees originated from a week I spent at a rural meditation retreat. Spring was slowly awakening the landscape from its winter bareness. For hours each day I sat next to a window, in meditative silence. As my city mindset quieted, I was transfixed as tender buds and leaves daily transformed a gnarly elm tree outside. My paintings evoke the immediacy of that experience as my hand slowly reanimates the twisting and branching line of a tree limb.

My painting process is meditative; I pay close attention to each leaf or branch as I build it. The images come from my photographs of trees and leaves, which I painstakingly draw onto large sheets of translucent Mylar, taking care to stay true to the original images. I then mix two pigments to an ink-like consistency and my brush shapes each element into a puddle of paint. As this paint mixture dries, the pigments reassert themselves, separating and forming unexpected, distinctive abstract patterns. For me, the palette I choose for each painting is the result of hundreds of color studies. These small studies allow me to explore different levels of color concentration and separation affected by the different pigment origins, weights, and by the shapes of forms into which they are painted. To accentuate the contrast between image and ground, I eliminate any background and adhere the painting to a panel that allows light to play behind the translucent painted surface.

These works draw upon two natural but disparate processes: the gestural unfolding and leafing of a branching tree limb, and the physical properties and behaviors of pigments. My intention is to create conditions under which I can observe the laws of nature. Form is dematerialized and re-assembled as a means of exploring color, the aliveness of a natural gesture made of repeated yet individual forms, and a felt-sense of the passage of time. opposite: Jackie Battenfield, studio view

detail: Delicate Slope

Jackie Battenfield Delicate Slope, 2017 acrylic on mylar mounted on panel 61.25 x 41.25 inches (framed) $10,500. (mounted and framed)

Rachel Hellerich, studio view

RACHEL HELLERICH

STATEMENT

My work is based on geometric abstraction – the relationship between pattern and spatial shifts. Patterns have been the vehicle for me to expand on challenging linear perspectives while creating illusionary spaces. In the creation of my work, in a representational and material sense, I approach painting more as a sculptor.

detail: Step to Ascension

Rachel Hellerich, Step to Ascension, 2018 acrylic and flashe on panel 36 x 30 inches $5200.

detail: Circuit Canopy

Rachel Hellerich Circuit Canopy, 2018 acrylic and flashe on panel 36 x 30 inches $5200.

detail: Nocturne

opposite: Rachel Hellerich, Nocturne, 2017 acrylic and flashe on panel, 18 x 18 inches $4000.

detail: Pop Flower 62

opposite: Mary Judge Pop Flower 62, 2018 powdered pigment on paper 30 x 30 inches (unframed), $3500. (unframed) 33.75 x 33.75 inches (framed), $3900. (framed)

MARY JUDGE

STATEMENT

Pop Flower Series The Pop Flower series has its origin in the geometric motifs found on ancient buildings in Cappadocia, Turkey, where I was an artist-in-residence in 2010. From these first drawings, I expanded the series towards a more botanical source with structural forms, not flowers per se, in mind. The imagery fuses the mystical with the rational divisions of a circle.

My technique grew out of many years of research and study of the Renaissance spolvero (meaning “dust�) technique, by which a perforated line drawing was laid on the wall, pounced and thereby the imagery was transferred for fresco painting. I use a variety of handmade and laser-cut stencils. By generating a language of form and geometry, I continue variations on the theme. The stencils are laid on thick cotton rag paper and I pounce the open spaces with sacks of intensely colored powdered pigment. By overlapping and layering stencils, I create complex, transparent patterns. My approach to the color is intuitive. Color harmonies are spontaneous and evolve over the course of the drawing process. I am interested in preserving the evidence of the technique; the debris and incidental byproducts of the process are intentional and chronicle the making of my work. image: Mary Judge, studio view

detail: Pop Flower 63

opposite: Mary Judge, Pop Flower 63, 2018 powdered pigment on paper 30 x 30 inches (unframed), $3500. (unframed) 33.75 x 33.75 inches (framed), $3900. (framed)

detail: Pop Flower 64

opposite: Mary Judge, Pop Flower 64, 2018 powdered pigment on paper 30 x 30 inches (unframed), $3500. (unframed) 33.75 x 33.75 inches (framed), $3900. (framed)

detail: Pop Flower 65

opposite: Mary Judge, Pop Flower 65, 2018 powdered pigment on paper 30 x 30 inches (unframed), $3500. (unframed) 33.75 x 33.75 inches (framed), $3900. (framed)

detail: Pop Flower 66

opposite: Mary Judge, Pop Flower 65, 2018 powdered pigment on paper 30 x 30 inches (unframed), $3500. (unframed) 33.75 x 33.75 inches (framed), $3900. (framed)

detail: Pop Flower, Opus Series 6

opposite: Mary Judge Pop Flower, Opus Series 6, 2018 powdered pigment on paper 44 x 44 inches (unframed), $4200. (unframed) 48 x 48 inches (framed), $4900. (framed)

Jenny Kemp, studio view

JENNY KEMP

STATEMENT

Investigation into my own inherent interest in organic form and color is what drives my artmaking. These inquiries come from a desire to create abstract images that serve to replace feelings, ideas and other unseen phenomenon into densely colored abstractions. The continual organic nature of my work stems from contemplations on human beings and our unquestionable relationship to organic matter. I approach composition centrally on paper, creating bodies in space that are frontal to the viewer, examining ways of yielding formal variety. I consider these bodies as presented cross-sections, revealing realms inside that are reminiscent of a variety of sources such as: natural organisms, psychedelic patterns and early modern abstraction. My animations allow me to further these dissections as I capture macro shots of my paintings and manipulate them into small stop-motion videos. These videos feed the paintings in terms of inventiveness and allow me to create conversations that address tensions between flatness/depth, containment/expansion, and handmade/digital.

detail: Hourglass

Jenny Kemp Hourglass, 2018 acrylic on linen mounted on panel 50 x 40 inches $3800.

detail: Spun

Jenny Kemp Spun, 2018 acrylic on linen mounted on panel 40 x 32 inches $3300.

detail: Life Slice

Jenny Kemp Life Slice, 2018 acrylic on linen mounted on panel 50 x 40 inches $3800.

detail: Heads Together

Jenny Kemp Heads Together, 2017 acrylic on linen mounted on panel 40 x 32 inches $3300.

MOLLY McCRACKEN KUMAR

STATEMENT

In Hindu philosophy, Shiva’s cosmic dance represents the whirling flow that is the dynamic tension and change of the universe. This concept is present equally in the galactic as it is in every cellular process. I experience this dynamic tension most keenly while gardening and observing plants grow and change throughout the seasons, where contemplating nature’s process of birth, death and rebirth inspires my artistic practice. The corporeal garden becomes a metaphorical space where I gather visual imagery and feel a sense of the sacred. Its history as a mythical space of earthly paradise and pleasure inform my thoughts, particularly the way the garden intermingles with culture and is a place for fantasies and fecundity.

Without directly illustrating the garden, the paintings embody its themes. The colorful surfaces of diaphanous layers give the sensation of being under water or in a densely humid midst. These sensuous and fluid atmospheres develop through many layers of translucent paint that co-mingle with small motifs. The motifs are covered over with more layers to suggest a deep space and pregnant air. Abstract shapes of plants and cells pierce and exert themselves gently to the foreground, while others remain dormant and hidden. Desire becomes the evolutionary impetus for the growth, illuminating renewal and possibilities. Feelings of tranquility are explored as a way to find balance and rest within the incessant movement. The final image then becomes a kinetic yet still embodiment of this painting process.

image: Molly McCracken Kumar, studio view

detail: Diffuse Revelry

opposite: Molly McCracken Kumar Diffuse Revelry, 2017 acrylic on canvas, 42 x 50 inches $4700.

detail: Regimented Entropy

opposite: Molly McCracken Kumar Regimented Entropy, 2017 acrylic on canvas 42 x 50 inches $4700.

detail: Trailing Blossom

opposite: Molly McCracken Kumar Trailing Blossom, 2017 acrylic on canvas 42 x 50 inches $4700.

CATHERINE LATSON

STATEMENT

The building blocks of the natural world are endlessly fascinating. No ocean or forest is bereft of ideas. Inspired by sea anemones and the motion of a water-bound world, current work explores forms that blur the lines between animal and plant, realism and fantasy, sculpture and specimen. While radial symmetry and tentacles are the common denominators in this series, each piece offers a different take on an organism in motion. Materials are simple, palettes are hand-dyed variations of one dominant color, and construction entails countless hours of whipping and knotting. My work does not preach. Nature is the text and a full-fledged collaborator.

opposite: Catherine Latson, studio view

detail: Specimen 7

opposite: Catherine Latson, Specimen 7, 2018 cotton, wire, repurposed tiles 10 x 36 x 3 (unframed) 12 x 39 x 3.75 (framed) $4500. (framed in acrylic shadowbox)

detail: Specimen 6

opposite: Catherine Latson Specimen 6, 2018 cotton, wire, vintage kidskin gloves, tapioca root 26 x 26 x 3 inches (unframed) $4500.

Joanne Mattera, studio view

JOANNE MATTERA

STATEMENT

The Silk Road Paintings My painting is chromatically juicy and compositionally reductive. I refer to it only partly tongue in cheek as “lush minimalism.” Each painting in the ongoing Silk Road series is a small color field achieved by layers of translucent wax paint applied at right angles. The series, which I began in 2005, was inspired by the iridescent hues of slubbed silk, hence the title, but very quickly evolved into a more expansive exploration of color. A decade and almost 300 paintings later, I am still enthralled with the exploration.

Silk Road is the most succulent painting I have done. It’s also the most reductive. In plying the richness of this paint against the austerity of a (very subtle) grid, I set in motion a small-scale dynamic in which more and less jostle for primacy.

detail

Joanne Mattera, Silk Road (series), 2018 encaustic (pigmented beeswax) on panel 18 x 18 x 1.5 inches, $4000. each

Joanne Mattera, Silk Road (series), 2018 encaustic (pigmented beeswax) on panel 18 x 18 x 1.5 inches, $4000. each

PETER PINCUS

STATEMENT

What started as my curiosity for pottery and vessel has extended to include painting and sculpture, and my present work is evidence of that evolution. I believe that color interaction can elicit new ways of seeing so I have dedicated the last five years to its study. Frequently, I elect to stage conflict by introducing an assertive color field to an equally emphatic form. This friction augments and enriches perceptions of space.

I’m proud to investigate the above concepts as a potter. I believe in grounding my work within an historic study of this craft and within art as formal and cultural languages. I believe that there is significant opportunity and necessity within the field of pottery to understand how it is currently defined, and more importantly, how it could be defined in the future. My work fits within a continuum and complements a broad range of investigations into the way handmade containers relate to humanity within our place in time. I find myself increasingly engaged by this topic and equally pressed to educate myself in order to explore it. image: Peter Pincus, studio view

top view: Black Bowl and White Bowl

Peter Pincus, Black Bowl and White Bowl (side view), 2018 colored porcelain, gold luster 6.5 x 8 x 8 inches$2200. (each)

Peter Pincus, Inversion Column, 2018 colored porcelain, 9.5 x 4 x 4 inches, $1800.

Peter Pincus, Banded Column, 2018 colored porcelain, gold luster, 8 x 4.5 x 3.5 inches, $1500.

Peter Pincus, Blue Contrasting Gradient Vessel and Grey Contrasting Gradient Vessel (Side 1 and Side 2), 2018 colored porcelain, gold luster, 20 x 8 x 8 inches, $4200. (each)

Peter Pincus, Warm Container and Cool Container (Side 1 and Side 2), 2018 colored porcelain, gold luster, 20 x 6 x 6 inches, $4000. (each)

Peter Pincus, Delphinium Vase and Orange Vase, 2018 colored porcelain, 13 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches, $3800. (each)

Peter Pincus, A Study of Transparency, 2018 colored porcelain, 10.5 x 6.5 x 7 inches, $2200. (set)

Peter Pincus, Quatrefoil Columns #1 and #2 (Side 1), 2018 colored porcelain, gold luster, 6.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, $1500. (each)

Peter Pincus, Quatrefoil Columns #1 and #2 (Side 2), 2018 colored porcelain, gold luster, 6.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, $1500. (each)

JANNA WATSON

STATEMENT

2018 Paintings

Spiritual alignment runs through the center core of Janna Watson’s practice. Harmonious pigments balanced against striking backgrounds echo personalized sentiments affected by light, colour, and space. These three elements are the life force behind each painting, and it bridges the gap between abstraction versus reality. While the artist experiments with the power of colour, shape, and their relationships to space, we, as the viewers, are grasping for that “tangible something” that mutates our personal energy into memories. Viewers are also invited to explore their own unique connections with colour and form, and note the parallel between the macrocosm and the microcosm, the universe and man. "Qì" is converted through Watson's vibrant palettes and unified with gestural scores. Against that, the artist gifts us with static lines and poetic titles that help ground us into the concrete and familiar world.

“You can have a blue jacket and touch the jacket with your body, but you can't touch the colour of the jacket. Colour touches you.”

Image: Janna Watson, studio view

detail: SILENCE MAKES ME CRAZY

Janna Watson, SILENCE MAKES ME CRAZY, 2018 (vertical) acrylic, gouache, oil pastel and ink on birch panel (varnished) 36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, $5200.

Janna Watson, SILENCE MAKES ME CRAZY, 2018 (horizontal) acrylic, gouache, oil pastel and ink on birch panel (varnished) 36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, $5200.

Please contact the gallery for images of the work included in Crazy Beautiful III Or for images from others bodies of work by these artists.

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