KELLEY JOHNSON: Recent Paintings
Iris Nesher: Project Room
Gary Passanise: Front Room
Barry Anderson: Media Room
(Sep 10, 2010 to Nov 06, 2010)
Bruno David Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Kelley Johnson. A fully illustrated color catalogue with writings by James Yood and Vara Lyons accompany the exhibition. A native of St. Louis originally trained in the figurative tradition; Johnson's recent paintings move beyond the classical skills he obtained as an art student in Paris. At their core, Johnson's current paintings stem from recent personal struggles and inner conflicts. Physically intimidating and engulfing due to their sheer size, this particular set of canvases creates a conflict in its viewers as they observe their own discomfort with the uncertainty of ambiguous spaces and planes that continuously subvert and interrupt created volumes. Indeed, we are left with the sense that we have been transported into Johnson's inner psyche and unsure of how to resolve the struggle which, of course, is precisely what the artist intended.
In the Project Room, Italian-born, Israel-based artist Iris Nesher presents "In the Dark Rooms," a series of photographs that investigates the very essence of female creativity. Nesher produces provocative, hauntingly beautiful photographs of a selection of female writers, poets, and playwrights of various cultural and religious backgrounds. A fully illustrated color catalogue with writings by Laura Beckman, Yigal Schwartz and Meir Aharonson accompany the exhibition.
In the Front Room, the gallery presents "The Sky Is No Longer The Limit -- Constructions and Proposals" by Gary Passanise. These small, mixed-media constructions contain ideas in miniature, revealing unsettling, unstable environments within. Grappling with the evolution of the American dream and the uncertainty of contemporary times, we are compelled to explore new possibilities and re-consider the path of our history. Prints and drawings illustrate proposals for site-specific installations offering a window into his always evolving creative process. Paradox and absurdity abound inviting viewers into metaphorical relationships and unexpected realities.
In the Media Room, video artist Barry Anderson presents a three-channel video entitled "Totem (1)." This new work, created in 2010, depicts, at a distance, a turbulent tornado against a yellow ochre sky, overtaking a Midwestern landscape reminiscent of Dorothy's Kansas. Upon closer inspection, a mass of swirling faces overwhelmed by this natural force becomes visible. These faces, a conglomeration of pop icons, speak to Anderson's recent interest in cultural imagery from 1950s to 1970s Americana. Rather than highlighting the era's empty consumerism, as many artists have before him, Anderson emphasizes the homogeneity of the era, contrasting it with the taste for individualism in modern American culture.
Press Release (PDF)
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