Desire Paths Catalog: Marie Thibeault & Patrick Brien

intensely political notofinthe thesites sense that it is alives”. collective or community activity atic psychological study of our intimate The spaces we inhabit have imprint t intimate selves upon them revealing our intimate thoughts, desires, etc. it may “Théorie be but usually is not) butInternationale in the sense that it elaborates theParis, 1958) Debord, de la dérive” in the Situationniste #2 (France,

ilities of new, more, different sensations than those we know…Sensations not only the possible becomings of a subject-in-process but also the le becomings of peoples and universes to come…Painting aims to visualize e forces, as music aims to sound forces that otherwise would remain ble."[1]

s natural and built environment is fraught with an ever-expanding meration of events, both large and small, acting on and affecting one r. Upon prolonged viewing and careful consideration of our landscape, one cover recognizable patterns – patterns that embody this lived moment. This ion, Desire Paths, brings together the artists Marie Thibeault and Patrick whose works examine abstracted notions of the landscape in response to

gion and lived experience, both seen and unseen. Each artist carefully nes their surrounding environment to reveal a space that is the

diment of dreams”.[2] This study of space is enacted through the dérive, a e prescribed by the situationist Guy Debord, who proposed a constructive

ogeographical” exploration of the (urban) environment.[3] The participant ng the dérive sees the landscape as a vast labyrinth of new experiences.

ult and Brien reveal new pathways in their paintings that break through the ns observed and recorded in their environments. This exhibition posits that h embodied looking, conditions within pictorial space can operate as hors for the intertwined aspects of nature and culture.

He states that this position is "historically contingent and subject to revision," and explores the contemporary expansion and reevaluation of landscape iconography to question how "…our relationship with nature can be today, how nature and culture are intertwined, and what it means to be a thinking and perceiving subject in a world that may be indifferent to our thinking and perceiving."[4] The work presented in this exhibition asks the viewer to see the landscape as an expressive vehicle exposing the intersection of natural and social constructions.

Seeking to expand the potentials of abstraction as a political and radical act, both artists upend western notions of the landscape. The work challenges the representations of the landscape as perpetrators of colonial and industrial triumph. Rather, the paintings harness the visual languages of abstraction, using mapped, territorial patterns to revise the representation of the landscape to one of ecological crisis and mediated experience. One might suppose mapping and diagrams are fixed constraints, but here the relationship within the work evokes something else entirely. The viewer is prompted to inquire, look deeply, criticize, and explore these “territorial patterns” through the array of fluctuating maps, diagrams, silhouettes, and “ground” planes – imagined spaces informed by specific places. Extrapolated from their surroundings, the patterns act as mediations relating to the real. Repeated and woven through painted layers, the patterns become structural, creating a framework for the paintings’ physical and conceptual navigation. The painting then becomes the representational and material embodiment of a tectonic architectural model, where the very construction of an edifice is meant to reveal its internal order.

Marie Thibeault's work across her oeuvre has explored the tenuous nature of the urban industrial complex in relationship with the natural world, ranging from environmental disasters impacting the built landscape to the irreparable harm dealt by industrial centers of the Port of Los Angeles to the surrounding

ngs, shrinkings, and fragmentations” of details into clarity and obscurity. g becomes “a space of enunciation”[5] creating a fragmented strata which up the experience of space and place. These walks confront fluctuating anging spaces that define the place she calls home. Her new body of work tly investigates the fluid instability and interlocking connectedness inherent ces that seemingly bar our entry. Thibeault uses the horizon line - a ntal division of the pictorial plane - as a guide which allows the viewer to old of their position relative to the painting. The horizon delineates and es space in the attempt to create a pathway into the paintings while s within the work are signifiers of our feeble attempts to control the rollable. In opposition to the horizon, shifting planes, shimmering screens, ptures afford no stable ground for the viewer to latch onto in the paintings. ure, we observe caution tape barring the viewer from entering the painting rlocking structural marks build a shimmering space, both architectural and

, forms flowing between organic and synthetic.

uiding act is also seen in Patrick Brien's work; shifting screen spaces, grid and mapping marks introduce us to a virtual space, borrowing the language ographical maps and surveying. Rather than attempting to ground us with a n, these mapped signs construct a shallow pictorial space, asking the

to follow the broken path that deviates from the plan to create "desire "[6] Brien states that in urban planning the “desire path” indicates the

ay which is unintended but typically followed. The study of these paths are ratic, as institutional structures can understand how to better shape and

e potential architectural impediments of walls and fences. The digital codes amework for a sort of mapping vernacular meant to ask the viewer to er the painting as a conceptual space – a guide for understanding the cal, embodied nature of layered painterly moves, creating a simultaneously and cerebral space.

Desire Path, Brien borrows from digital computer drawing software: screen spaces within the frame of the painting interrupt a coherent read, while scrawling lines act as mapping guides through the painting, alluding to the inherent dependence on our technological interface to understand our fragmented world.

Although both artists are transplants to their respective areas, the work presented here is quintessentially Californian. This work is in dialog with the expansive tradition of painting regionally, ranging from the Romanticists, California Impressionists, Tonalists, Society of Six, Bay Area Figurative artists, and Funk artists, as they both draw from, and expand on, the tradition to encapsulate the psychological and environmental impacts of our present moment. Each artist seeks to harness painting as a container. The paintings are realms of overlapping sensations and experiences, harnessing forms ranging from planes that edit and obliterate, to mapping lines that guide the viewer through work. Thibeault and Brien roam the landscape both real and mediated to record overlapping patterns of experience that come to clarity and fall apart into obscurity. This embodied looking at the exterior world reflects our interior world. Through paint these responses reveal the artists’ most intimate memories and longings. The intersecting signs, iconographic and material, allude to places and spaces full of tumultuous uncertainty as we navigate enthralled into the unknown.

Mirabel Wigon

ress transformation and rupture caused by the environmental strain of climate e.

ainting references a specific event or encounter with a landscape that has been cantly altered or traumatized by climate related events. One such area is the n arroyo area that has recently endured drought, fire, and flooding. Exploring this nd similar California landscapes has provided a rich source of inspiration. As a bearing witness, I search for anomalies, and traces of recent history, scanning nges that are occurring as the climate increases the tension and interplay en the urban landscape and the natural world.

rms and structure of these place-events are interwoven and embedded within us atmospheric color fields, as a way of binding what may be broken into a new ness. I aim to deepen empathy and visualize our interconnectedness to the ape, while also reflecting a sense of precarious balance. My work is an attempt tain the uncontainable, while recording a specific time and place in poetic form.

www.mariethibeault.com/ | @mariethibeaultart

2017 2016 2015

Von Fraunberg Gallery, Marie Thibeault, Dusseldorf , Germany Gallery Elena Shchukina, Neon Babylon, London, England George Lawson Gallery, Engineering, San Francisco, CA Jose Druis-Biada Art Gallery, Mount St. Mary’s University, Reference to Geometry, Los Angeles, CA

SELECTED TWO PERSON AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2023 Desire Paths, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA

By Degrees: Art and Our Changing Ecology, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach,CA 2022 Abstract Los Angeles: Four Generations, Brand Library Art Center, LA ,CA Abstract/Not Abstract, PRJCTLA, La, CA Not Non Objective, Fellows of Contemporary Art, LA, CA 2021 Inaugural Exhibition, Ellio Gallery, Houston, Texas 2020 Site Visit, group invitational, L’Air Arts and Artland, Paris, France Small is Beautiful, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA The Vista: Abstract Painting, Durden and Ray, Los Angeles CA Intra-Being: Ecological Civilization, Spring Break Art Show, Los Angeles, CA 2019 Break Down Build Up: Daniel Dove and Marie Thibeault, Great Park Gallery, Irvine, CA 2018 Feminine Sublime, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, CA Color Vision, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA Earthly Delights, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA 2017 The Reality of Nature, Launch LA, Los Angeles, CA Residency Exhibition, Two Coats of Paint, Brooklyn, NY Abstraction in the Singular, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AR 2016 Abstract Mix, Santa Rosa College, Santa Rosa, CA The Night, BLAM, Los Angeles, CA 2015 Influences & Sensibilities, Sonce Alexander Gallery, Los Angeles, CA SELECTED REVIEWS, PUBLICATIONS, MEDIA 2021 Embodied Forest, Ecoartspace, online and printed book, https://issuu.com/ecoartspace/docs/embodiedforest2021 2020 Artillery , Feature interview by Liz Goldman, Nov/Dec issue. LA, CA Irvine Weekly, Break Down, Build Up: Contemporary Landscapes, Liz Goldner.

Small is Beautiful, Exhibition Catalogue, Irvine Fine Arts Center Irvine , CA 2019 Figure /Ground blogspace, Feature Interview with Suzanne Unrein 2018 Art and Cake, The Feminine Sublime, Lorraine Heitzman, February 13, Los Angeles.

Savvy Painter Podcast, Interview with Antrese Wood Art and Cake, Studio Visit, Interview and essay by Gary Brewster, Feb issue.

Feminine Sublime Video, Exhibition Overview, Youtube Video , October 2017 Huffington Post, The Reality of Nature, Shana Nys Dambrot September 9, 2017 Art and Cake, Forest Bathing at Launch LA, Betty Brown, September 15, 2017 Arizona Foothills Magazine, Abstraction in the Singular Opens at Bentley Gallery, March 15, 2017 2016 Two Coats of Paint, September Resident, essay, Brooklyn New York, August 22, 2016 2015 Squarecylinder , Marie Thibeault @ George Lawson, Review, Julia Couzens, October 28, 2015, California Two Coats of Paint , Marie Thibeault: Powerful Forces, Sharon Butler, New York, October 27, 2015 SELECTED PUBLIC LECTURES, WEBINARS and PODCASTS 2021 Webinar Lecture, Tree Talk: Artists Speak for Trees, Ecoartspace, global platform.

Panel Discussion, Studio Soup, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA 2020 Art Conversations: Peter Frank with Daniel Dove and Marie Thibeault, Break Down, Build Up, Exhibition, Great Park Art Complex, Irvine CA SELECTED RESIDENCIES 2018 Honorary Fellow and Lecturer, L’Air Arts, Residency at FIAP, Paris, France 2016 Resident,Two Coats of Paint Artist Residency, Brooklyn, NY PROFESSIONAL TEACHING California State University, Professor Emerita EDUCATION University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, Master of Fine Art in Painting San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, Master of Art in Painting Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting

ology, and mapping. Elements and layers are stacked upon one r, echoing the tactile accretion often found in the urban environment. of the paintings are scraped away, reconstructed, patched or lead into etely other windows of imagery. The stacking of imagery reflects my t in the way that digital interfaces, augmented reality and GPS have e enmeshed into the way that we perceive and interact with the world. s an uncanniness to how mapping apps present information about a n that I try to include in the paintings. The formal elements that I ose on the canvas become signifiers for these ideas when placed beside other.

www.patrickbrien.com/ | @_patrick_brien_

2020 2019 2013 2012

Metadata, Corridor 2122, Fresno, CA Double Blind, Edward A. Whitney Gallery, Sheridan College, Sheridan, WY reSITE, Project Space, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA Plans, Threesquared, Nashville, TN

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2023 Desire Paths, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2021 Hope & Possibility, Benefit Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA 2C, Todd Art Gallery, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN 2019 Surreal Spaces, Goodyear Arts, Charlotte, NC Huge, Arts Consortium, Visalia, CA 2018 Into the Light, Rail Park Benefit Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA International Painting Annual 8, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (juried exhibition in print) 2017 Small Works, Southside Gallery, Oxford, MS 2016 Tiny Universe Two, Gallery at Hotel Indigo, Athens, GA Emerges IX, ATHICA, Athens, GA Wunderkindred II, Mammal Gallery, Atlanta, GA Proximity, Malone Gallery, Troy University, Troy, AL 2015 Portable Nature Graphics (.png), Southside Gallery, Oxford, MS Lamar Dodd School of Art MFA Exhibition, Rogue Space, New York, NY Southern Hospitality, The FAB Gallery, VCU, Richmond, VA The Exquisite, Gallery 101, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 2014 Tiny Universe, Indigo Gallery, Athens, GA Under the Radar, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN 2013 Making Masters, Madison Museum of Fine Art, Madison, GA 2012 Neu Wurk, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA Curious Dwellings, Twist Gallery, Nashville, TN (Two-person Exhibition) Without Borders, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN 2011 Small Packages 17, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN 2006 Small Packages 12, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN 040 Inaugural Alumni Exhibition, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN Assemblage, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN 2004 Fresh Cuts, Secret Show Series, Nashville, TN PUBLICATION & PRESS 2019 Manifest Gallery International Painting Annual 8 (April) 2017 ArtMaze Magazine, Anniversary Autumn Issue 5 Friend of the Artist, Fall 2017 Issue 2015 Fresh Paint Magazine, International Issue 9, Nicole Capozzi, Juror (October) Number: Eighty-Four, Independent Arts Journal (September) 2014 Under the Radar, Nashville Arts Magazine (February) 2012 Mediating Abstraction, Art Now Nashville (April) PROFESSIONAL ACADEMIC TEACHING California State University, Stanislaus, Lecturer College of the Sequoias Reedley College EDUCATION 2015 MFA, University of Georgia 2004 BFA, Middle Tennessee State University

about from a studio visit with Patrick during the Summer of 2022. I saw parallels between his work and Marie’s work. They were each grappling with their understanding of space – their journey through their most immediate environments both real and mediated. I also saw in them ideas that I have been considering in my own work. I discovered that Patrick had been following Marie’s work for some time and it was then I felt determined to put their work in conversation with one another. I can not express enough how it has been an absolute pleasure working with both Marie and Patrick, and I am forever grateful and thankful for their patience and enthusiasm throughout this process. A big thank you to my partner Ian Roffe and our friend Steven Higgins for helping with the installation and layout of this exhibition. Lastly, many thanks to Axis Gallery for hosting this exhibition and to the other artist members for their support. Additionally, the history of the Sacramento area, and the people, is rich in heritage, culture and tradition. This area was, and still is, the Tribal land of the Nisenan people. Sacramento was a gathering place for many local Tribes who have lived throughout the central valley and the foothills for generations and were the original stewards of this land. I would like to acknowledge the Southern Maidu people to the North, the Valley and Plains Miwok/Me-Wuk Peoples to the south of the American River, and the Patwin Wintun Peoples to the west of the Sacramento River. I would also like to honor the Wilton Rancheria, the only federally recognized tribe in Sacramento County. The gallery and myself acknowledge that this exhibition is standing on the tribal lands of Sacramento's Indigenous people. This catalog is just a snippet of the exhibition, and it is my sincere hope that the greater Sacramento community will enjoy this work as much as I do.

Mirabel Wigon