Shape Shift

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY BERGAMOT STATION ARTS CENTER 2525 MICHIGAN AVE., E-1 SANTA MONICA, CA 90404 P 310-453-0909 F 310-453-0908 www.williamturnergallery.com

SHAPE SHIFT Charles Arnoldi Dawn Arrowsmith Michael Braden Peter Lodato

SHAPE SHIFT Santa Monica, CA – The William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Shape Shift, a group exhibition featuring new work from four contemporary artists, Charles Arnoldi, Dawn Arrowsmith, Michael Braden and Peter Lodato.

The term “Shape Shift” refers to the ability of a being to physically transform from one form to another, usually by way of magic. For our purposes, it points directly to each artist’s ability to translate the complex essences of our world into elegantly minimal geometric forms. Utilizing expressive color to define geometric spaces and convey senses of atmosphere, each of the artists has created a unique visual language - the “magic” they employ - to transform blank canvases into nuanced perceptions and evocative compositions. When one takes time to really look, what initially appear to be simple binary compositions, limited to shape and color, magically transform to nuanced perceptions of powerful complexity.

Charles Arnoldi was described early on as an artist who “draws in space”. That sense of elegance and poetry has continued to inform the artist’s work as it has restlessly evolved through a multiplicity of media and styles. Throughout his long career, the artist has been fascinated with shape and pattern to express advanced formal concerns. These new works are perhaps the most expressively minimal to date.

Dawn Arrowsmith’s paintings are meditations in color. It has been said that each is a kind of minimalist luxury – pure, distilled, economical, but also rich, luscious, erotic. Her work is intuitive, greatly influenced

by Buddhist philosophy and by her travels to the Orient.

Michael Braden has forever been fascinated with what he calls transitional environments, the spaces of the in-between, the point of discord and discourse, of prospect and refuge. The line of the drawing becomes a transitional space, something to encounter.

Peter Lodato Adhering to reductive, often binary field /ground compositions, the paintings resonate with the viewer like optical tuning forks. As one adjusts to the subtle rhythms within and between the paintings in this series, there is a palpable shift in consciousness and perception – as the aesthetic experience becomes a meditative one.

CHARLES ARNOLDI

CHARLES ARNOLDI, Untitled, 2013, oil on aluminum, 59”x51”

CHARLES ARNOLDI, Untitled, 2013, oil on aluminum, 59”x51”

CHARLES ARNOLDI, Untitled, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 20”x16”

CHARLES ARNOLDI, Smith, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 82”x71”

CHARLES ARNOLDI, Untitled, 2013, oil on canvas, 84”x72”

CHARLES ARNOLDI, Pontiac, 2013, oil on canvas, 88”x78”

DAWN ARROWSMITH

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Sacred Green, acrylic on canvas, 60”x60”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Mandarin, acrylic on canvas, 60”x60”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Persian Blue, acrylic on canvas, 60”x60”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Saffron, acrylic on canvas, 42”x42”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Brody Green/Pink Sky, acrylic on canvas, 42”x 42”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Robin Blue, acrylic on canvas, 42”x 42”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Light Violet/Yellow Light, acrylic on canvas, 48”x48”

DAWN ARROWSMITH, Magenta/Luminescent Verde, acrylic on canvas, 48”x48”

PETER LODATO

PETER LODATO, Window #2, Violet, oil on canvas, 84”x36”

PETER LODATO, Two Plus Two:Byzantium, oil on canvas, 84”x52”

PETER LODATO, Two + Two Violet, oil on linen, 60”x45”

PETER LODATO, Untitled, oil on canvas, 84”x62””

PETER LODATO, Circus, oil on canvas, 96”x72”

PETER LODATO, Six Plus Seven, oil on canvas, 96”x72”

MICHAEL BRADEN

MICHAEL BRADEN,Step Forward and be Counted, acrylic on canvas, 72”x60”

MICHAEL BRADEN, What Was Said to the Rose that Made it Open, acrylic on canvas, 52”x72”

MICHAEL BRADEN, Getting a Better View, acrylic on canvas, 60”x72”

MICHAEL BRADEN, A Little Glitz and Glamour, acrylci on canvas, 46”x50”

MICHAEL BRADEN, A Giddy Disregard for Boarders, acrylic on canvas, 76”x88”

MICHAEL BRADEN, Nearly Blindsided, acrylic on canvas, 52”x72”

MICHAEL BRADEN, Cover Boy, acrylic on canvas, 76”x88”

MICHAEL BRADEN, I’m Not Mincing Words, acrylic on canvas, 76”x88”

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WIL TUR GAL

LIAM RNER LLERY