In Sight, Winter Group Exhibition, 2020

IN SIGHT Exhibition Reception: January 24, 6–8pm Exhibition: January 22 – March 15, 2020

Olsen Gruin is pleased to present In Sight, a winter group exhibition designed to raise awareness about our precious Earth and address what is at stake in the age of climate crisis. Taking an opposing stance to the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to caring for our planet, In Sight will feature drawings, paintings, photography, sculptures, and mixed-media works by Alphachanneling, Anna-Wili Highfield, Bo Droga, Delfina Braun, Edo Costantini, Joseph McGlennon, Juanli Carrión, Laura Jones, Leila Jeffreys, Melissa Coote, Ori Carino, and Ray Smith. The exhibition is set to run from January 22 – March 15 2020, with an opening reception on Friday, January 24. A percentage of art sales proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to the Australian Red Cross.

Showcasing artists from varying regions of the world, In Sight, allows environmental issues to be seen through dynamic perspectives and mediums. Alphachanneling’s work dives into the rawness of nature through subject matter and form.

The artist depicts sexual scenes, set in the embrace of flora and fauna, depicted with bare and reduced colored pencil line work. Through whimsical illustrations, nature is personified in union with humankind.

Joseph McGlennon’s series Florilegium is a direct response to magnified fading memories in observing nature at its most fragile and elusive. McGlennon’s photographs feature collage-style and digitally enhanced layers to produce remarkably detailed imagery that is representative of rich landscapes.

Delfina Braun’s ‘Naturaleza Muerta’ is a melancholic series of drawings that portrays endangered and extinct flowers from around the world, mostly native to Amazonia, Indonesia and Australia. The flowers she chose to illustrate are the most extravagant and rare kinds from around the world, and therefore survive in exotic habitats; mainly forests and rainforests. Braun intends to portray the miraculous beauty of life and its vulnerability under human’ massive pollution and destruction.

Leila Jeffreys’ work forges an emotional and sympathetic bond with the audience as she establishes parallels between the ‘flock’ and our human concept of ‘community’; a commentary on our need to preserve wildlife societies and their homes. “There exists a symbolic relationship between birds and trees,” says Leila Jeffreys. “Their survival depends on each other. We depend on them. These birds serve as a visual reminder to leave wild places for these other societies to enjoy, as well as our own.”

Edo Costantini uses the Purveyors of Chinese Wuxing philosophy, also known as Five Element Theory, to visualize key elements in our environmental issues. This ideal proposes that there exists a cycle of five seasons, each of which represents a different natural process, relating to either birth or death -- generation or decay. In a flower is not a flower, we see representations of each of these phases -- the blossoming of a flower, the splintering of a dying branch, the sun’s fiery glow on dried leaves. In each frame, Costantini captures a story we all innately know: the impermanence of life, the inevitable end of each of its phases and the birth of new life in death’s wake. The white flowers that reappear throughout the series may be analogous to the hope that is kindled and nurtured by younger generations amidst ecological catastrophes we now face. At the same time, the white lily stands as the traditional flower of death in Western culture, and may very well offer the same meaning here, introducing a darker metaphor; perhaps we are attending mother earth’s funeral, the flowers: a mark of her burial site. In discussing his process, Costantini remarked that each photo was taken under the light of a full or new moon. “Whether it is day or night, visible or not, the moon is always there”. Costantini implies the famous Hermetic idiom-- as above, so below. Like the moon, earth’s life is always moving, rotating and entering new phases. As these phases accelerate in response to environmental damage, we observe a drastic new cycle of life and death that may well come to a full stop in the near future.

Laura Jones luminous paintings embody a deep admiration for the natural world. Impacted by a trip made to the Great Barrier Reef, Jones expresses the interconnectedness of environments around the world. Her work, Gaia, combines warm and cool tones on opposing sides to contrast the trauma of the barrier reef that is seen through mass coral bleaching. The large scale of her work brings awareness and strikes viewers with the fear of an ecosystem absent of color and life.

For further information please contact the gallery at info@olsengruin.com or at +1.646.525.6213. All images are subject to copyright. Gallery approval must be granted prior to reproduction.

IN SIGHT, 2020 Winter Group Exhibition

Juanli Carriรณn Vaimoana Esculenta, 2015 Color Pencil on Paper 54 x 32 " (137.2 x 81.3 cm) 57597 $6,000

Juanli Carriรณn Olivia Populus Tremula, 2015 54 x 32 " (137.2 x 81.3 cm) 57598 $6,000

Joseph McGlennon Florilegium Number 5 Unique Edition 1 of 1 Photograph 47 1/4 x 62 1/4 " (120 x 158 cm) 56892 $5,500

Laura Jones Gaia, 2018-19 Oil on belgian linen 96 x 165 " (243.8 x 419.1 cm) 56554 $33,400

Ori Carino Wisdom and Solitude, 2018 Black sequins, acrylic paint, freehand airbrush 61 x 56 " (154.9 x 142.2 cm) 57596 $13,500

Leila Jeffreys Gum Leaves, 2019 Photographic print on fibre based cotton rag 44" x 54" Edition of 8 + 2 AP Unframed: $6,000 Framed: $7,200 61" x 75" Edition of 6 + 2 AP Unframed: $8,000 Framed: $10,200

Leila Jeffreys Charcoal and Ash, 2019 Photographic print on fibre based cotton rag 45" x 44" Edition of 8 + 2 AP Unframed: $6,000 Framed: $7,000 61" x 60" Edition of 6 + 2 AP Unframed: $8,000 Framed: $10,200

Leila Jeffreys Revival , 2019 Photographic print on fibre based cotton rag 45" x 44" Edition of 8 + 2 AP Unframed: $6,000 Framed: $7,000 61" x 60" Edition of 6 + 2 AP Unframed: $8,000 Framed: $10,200

Delfina Braun Like the cock the hen, 2019 Charcoal on cotton paper 1 24 /4 x 30 1/8 " (61.6 x 76.5 cm) 57599 Framed $4,000

Delfina Braun The sun needs the moon, 2019 Charcoal on cotton paper 1 24 /4 x 30 1/8 " (61.6 x 76.5 cm) 57600 Framed $4,000

Edo Costantini A flower is not a flower, 2018 Photographic print on Hahne Muhle Photo Rag Bright 21 1/3 x 32 " (54.2 x 81.3 cm) Edition of 5 + 2 AP 57601 Framed $3,000

Edo Costantini A flower is not a flower V, 2018 Photographic print on Hahne Muhle Photo Rag Bright 21 1/3 x 32 " (54.2 x 81.3 cm) Edition of 5 + 2 AP 57602 Framed $3,000

Edo Costantini A flower is not a flower VIII, 2018 Photographic print on Hahne Muhle Photo Rag Bright 21 1/3 x 32 " (54.2 x 81.3 cm) Edition of 5 + 2 AP 57603 Framed $3,000

Anna-Wili Highfield Budgerigars, 2019 Archival cotton rag, cotton thread, wax and brass 52 3/8 x 7 7/8 x 7 7/8 " (133 x 20 x 20 cm) 57605 $11,300

Ray Smith Color Shadows, 2019 Enamel on mirror 72 x 36 " (182.9 x 91.4 cm) 57607 $15,000

Ray Smith Color Shadows, 2019 Enamel on mirror 72 x 36 " (182.9 x 91.4 cm) 57608 $15,000

Ray Smith Color Shadows, 2019 Enamel on mirror 72 x 36 " (182.9 x 91.4 cm) 57609 $15,000

Leila Jeffreys Nature is not a place to visit. It is home., 2019 Digital work. Multiple channel. Continuous loop.

Size variable 57633 $15,100

Bo Droga Dispair, 2020 Fire hose, metal nozzle 12 x 12 x 22 " (30.5 x 30.5 x 55.9 cm) 57634 $6,200

Melissa Coote Sofie 1 , 2019 Pigment, pastel, ink, mastic, canvas, anodised aluminum 39 3/4 x 26 " (101 x 66 cm) 57632 $2,000

Melissa Coote Sofie 2, 2019 Pigment, pastel, ink, mastic, canvas, anodised aluminium 39 3/4 x 26 " (101 x 66 cm) 57635 $2,000

Alphachanneling The Living Temple: Blue, 2016 Colored Pencil 17.5 x 14 " (44.5 x 35.6 cm) 50005 $1,200

Alphachanneling Sex Therapist Blue, 2017 Pencil on paper 18" x 12" (unframed) 21" x 15" (framed) 50194 $1,400

Alphachanneling Moment of Recognition: Black, 2016 Pen and Ink 17.5 x 14 " (44.5 x 35.6 cm) 50002 $1,200

Alphachanneling Beast Of Desire Line Version, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50201 $1,300

Alphachanneling Deep Powerful Prayer Dark Blue, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50203 $1,300

Alphachanneling Fucking In The Night Jungle Under Canopy Of Wild Citrus, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50205 $1,300

Alphachanneling Mother Earth Father Sun Blue Lines, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50207 $1,300

Alphachanneling Musician And His Instrument, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50208 $1,300

Alphachanneling PUSSY Pink Blue, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50211 $1,300

Alphachanneling Two Lovers Under Giant Flower Blossoms Line Version, 2017 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.5 cm) 50212 $1,300

Alphachanneling Fallen Angel Colors, 2017 Pencil on paper 16 x 12 " (40.6 x 30.5 cm) 50214 $1,200

Alphachanneling Fallen Angel and the Virgin Whore- In the Deep Forest, 2015 Pencil on paper 18 x 12 " (45.7 x 30.4 cm) 55144 $1,300