Bienvenido!
Welcome to Quattros, a modern art gallery located in Valparaiso, Chile run by Jonathan, Jack, John and Penny McDermott.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Temporal Distortion
Featuring:
Harding Mayer
Stephanie Jung
Jean Faucheur
Enrico Ferrarini
Isabel M. Martínez
Kai Samuels-Davis
Paul Kaptein
Mathieu St. Pierre
Brno Del Zou
Pia Männikkö
==
This show focuses on time - the perception of time and what happens when that perception is altered. Whether through insomnia or drugs or the internet, our sense of what’s real is intrinsically linked to our perception of passing events, of the passing of time. We looked at what happens when our view of these moments, these sequential moments, are jarred. We focused on the idea that a single event can contribute to a total breakdown of consciousness. A single choice - and how both the action and inaction can cause a profound effect on our realty. What do we see when our ordered state of consciousness is stressed? How does our perception of reality change? We tried to find pieces that exhibit this sense - that illustrate this altered state, whether by seeing time in simultaneous moments, the potentiality of moments, or the moments where reality simply doesn’t compute and we suffer a glitch, trying to bring us back to “reality” - and what happens if we get stuck in that loop.
We hope you enjoy.
(15-2013)
Harding Mayer
(15-2013)
Oil on canvas
150 x 190 cm
2013
==
Harding Meyer is a contemporary Brazilian artist known for his large-scale Photorealist portraiture executed with prominent brushstrokes and palette knife scrapings. His focus is on the human face—close-ups on a monochrome background—taken from popular media such as magazines, film, and television. His mark-making reflects the horizontal linear structure found in images captured from television stills, or the geometric pixelated layouts within those that are sourced via the Internet. Born in 1964 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Meyer studied at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künst in Karlsruhe, Germany where he currently lives and works.
(http://www.artnet.com/artists/harding-meyer/)
The main subject in Harding Meyer's work is his intensive pursuit of the artistic rendering of the human face. The subtle differences in the artistic realisation of each single motif are indicative of this intensive preoccupation. The single images, which were worked out over weeks and months, are consistent within themselves. In direct comparison, they reveal their - in every way - multi-layered origin.
(http://www.re-title.com/artists/harding-meyer.asp)
==
This work demonstrates Color as an element of design in that there is a stark contrast of the bright red of the lips and the clear blue of the eyes against the light skin tone.
It demonstrates Rhythm as a principle of design in that we can follow the beat from one mouth to the other, and follow the movement as the face looks up and down again.
==
We chose this work because sometimes life is just a single choice. It's a moment in time from which all else branches, and much like Schrödinger’s Cat, we aren’t aware of what path or branch of reality we have chosen until we observe it. So in the moment, you are in a quantum superposition of both having made one choice and of having made the other. You are two people instead of one - both realities existing, stretched out before you. Will you make the right choice or the wrong? And more importantly, what happens if you don't?
Harding Meyer is a contemporary Brazilian artist known for his large-scale Photorealist portraiture executed with prominent brushstrokes and palette knife scrapings. His focus is on the human face—close-ups on a monochrome background—taken from popular media such as magazines, film, and television. His mark-making reflects the horizontal linear structure found in images captured from television stills, or the geometric pixelated layouts within those that are sourced via the Internet. Born in 1964 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Meyer studied at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künst in Karlsruhe, Germany where he currently lives and works.
(http://www.artnet.com/artists/harding-meyer/)
The main subject in Harding Meyer's work is his intensive pursuit of the artistic rendering of the human face. The subtle differences in the artistic realisation of each single motif are indicative of this intensive preoccupation. The single images, which were worked out over weeks and months, are consistent within themselves. In direct comparison, they reveal their - in every way - multi-layered origin.
(http://www.re-title.com/artists/harding-meyer.asp)
==
This work demonstrates Color as an element of design in that there is a stark contrast of the bright red of the lips and the clear blue of the eyes against the light skin tone.
It demonstrates Rhythm as a principle of design in that we can follow the beat from one mouth to the other, and follow the movement as the face looks up and down again.
==
We chose this work because sometimes life is just a single choice. It's a moment in time from which all else branches, and much like Schrödinger’s Cat, we aren’t aware of what path or branch of reality we have chosen until we observe it. So in the moment, you are in a quantum superposition of both having made one choice and of having made the other. You are two people instead of one - both realities existing, stretched out before you. Will you make the right choice or the wrong? And more importantly, what happens if you don't?
Gion
Stephanie Jung
Gion
Gion
Multiple Exposure Photograph
16 x 20 inches
2010
==
Stephanie Jung is a freelance photographer based in Berlin, Germany. In 2010 she finished her studies in Visual Communications, where she discovered her passion for experimental photography. Since 2012 she is working as a freelance photographer, focussing on fine art and portrait photography. She loves to travel all over the world, especially to big cities, to capture the vibrant and hectic mood of a place. But her work is not just about citylife, it's about time and caducity, about capturing special moments getting lost in time. Some of her work has been published in different magazines as well as exhibited in art galleries.
One of the most beautiful little areas of Japan: Gion in Kyoto, the Geisha district. I felt like I was set back in time, at night it was especially beautiful. The lights were amazing and created this beautiful mood. I chose to give this scene a more abstract view. As the light and mood speak for themselves, you don’t need to see every detail.
==
This work demonstrates Space as an element of design in that we can easily visualize the space that the photograph was taken. We see the road stretching out and the signs and lights in the darkness. We get a feeling of both open and closed space as the effect of disorientation helps to close the normally open space.
It demonstrates Scale as a principle of design in that we can see multiple exposures of a car in the focal point in the photograph, so we are given a sense of scale based on a known object in real life.
==
We chose this work because it reminds us of the beginning of a hallucination. That moment where you realize that things truly are, “off”. Sometimes it's just something small, like a streetlight you swear wasn’t there before, or that you're walking in a foreign place but you know it intimately. You can’t quite place it, but things are wrong, and that splinter in your mind starts to dig and dig. You are infected by this little glitch, this little - change - in perception, and it sends you headlong into chaos.
amélie
Jean Faucheur
"amélie"
photo découpée
18 cm x 24 cm
2002
==
Born in 1956 in Paris, live and work in Paris. France. He is considered a prominent figure of urban art thanks to his talent as a pioneer, taste for rupture, and acute sense of sharing. Armed with a solid classical education, he soon gained the fertile intuition that museums' walls must be brought down and give them a sky for a roof.
Jean Faucheur creates the work to show forth the drive-dimension of the look, and the relation of the look to the object of desire that institutes it as lack. This he achieves in two gestures that one could link to the dynamics of a Moebius strip. Lacan’s utilization of this topological figure (3) permits us to imagine that there are two sides to Faucheur’s procedure:
- From inside the body of the work, given that it explores the issue of lack in making a hole in the illusory completeness of the image, making it appear/disappear through spots of painting, braids, collages, and pixelization.
- From outside, in the interactive bodily experience of the viewer, which in its movement or immobility disrupts the bidimensional structure of the work, thanks to the prolongation in space of the lines of perspective, and to the fabrication of labyrinths constituted by the disposition of the installation and a play with light.
==
This work demonstrates Shape as an element of design in that there are actual circles and rectangles repeated throughout the piece, breaking up the work and giving the viewer areas to focus on.
It demonstrates Focal Point as a principle of design in that the piece is visually focused on the center. One can almost see a spiral effect enhancing this feature of driving our focus ever inward.
==
We chose this work because it ties into the idea of being lost in the moment - seeing every aspect of your choice. The binary aspect of “right and wrong”, “yes or no” is shown as each circle is the opposite of the reality in which it was cut. These choices swirl all around us, frozen in time - a multitude of possible choices, each branching out into an uncertain future. As you contemplate these choices you are hurtling from the moment of it, were you right, were you wrong, which path have you been thrust upon, and has the choice been actively made, or made for you?
"Sara" (verginità - virginity)
Enrico Ferrarini
"Sara" (verginità - virginity)
Marble
52 cm x 129 cm x 50 cm
2014
==
==
Born July 20, 1987 Modena (IT). Study at: Art Institute A. Venturi - Modena IT, Ceramic section / Academy of Fine Arts - Firenze IT, Sculpture section / Akademie der Bildenden Kunst - München GER / Istituto Professionale Industriale E Artigianato del Marmo Pietro Tacca - Carrara IT. Actually teaching & work in Firenze IT.
“…his works have evolved out of research in Neuroscience where he molds time, space, movement, expression and perception.”
==
This work demonstrates Time/Motion as an element of design in that we can witness the transition of the face turning while captured in a single moment.
It demonstrates Emphasis as a principle of design in that the blurred, turning face is the dominant feature of the bust, and draws the viewer’s eye to that area of the sculpture.
==
We chose this work because it captures a moment of transition in time. We love the effect that Ferrarani has achieved with the marble, the slow, fluid transition from one moment in time to the next. You’re making a transition from one choice to another. While other pieces in the show may illustrate the collection of moments in time, this sculpture shows the actual moment, spread over milliseconds and captured for you to reflect upon.
Dock #1
Isabel M. Martínez
Dock #1
Chromogenic print
76 cm x 76 cm
2001
==
Isabel M. Martínez spent her formative years in Santiago de Chile. She has exhibited internationally in solo and curated
group shows in Chile, Canada, the UK, the USA, France, Brazil, Colombia and Spain.
My work deals with the aspects of experience where the real, the known, and the imagined blend. Perception is a recurring theme within my practice. This is paired with an ongoing interest in ideas concerning notions of time, space, simultaneity and duration. My visual interpretations are informed in part by science, philosophy and fiction. Process and experimentation with the qualities of analogue photography, and the film negative in particular, are at the forefront of much of my practice; this leads to ambiguous narratives and hybrid exercises. Creating juxtapositions that are disorienting or unexpected, my work engages with the uncertain amid the assumed and probes the boundary between abstraction and representation, fact and fiction.
==
This work demonstrates Line as an element of design in that it is the main focus of the work. Lines break up the subject and present the viewer with veritable slices of time, collected and displayed as vertical lines.
It demonstrates Balance as a principle of design in that there is a clear sense of measurement in the work. This literal measured space is completely balanced from left to right and more figuratively from top to bottom.
==
We chose this work because it illustrates distortion in time in relation to the lost moments we may or may not perceive. You experience life according to the artist, at 40 moments per second, and as we hurtle through life, there are an infinite amount of random firing moments of chance that we aren’t directly aware of - these moments falling in-between those 40 conscious ones. There is the possibility that you cannot fathom what has occurred while you weren’t looking, while your mind was blinking. How would you react? How would you change?
New Beginning
Kai Samuels-Davis
New Beginning
Oil on panel
36 x 30 inches
2014
==
Kai Samuels-Davis is a New York born artist living and working in Inverness, CA. He attended classes at the Woodstock School of Art at the age of 16, followed by a stint at the Art Students League of New York the following year. In 2002 he received his Bachelors in Fine Arts degree at State University of New York Purchase before moving to California where he completed the graduate program in film at Art Center College of Design in 2006.
Structures and spaces are fragmented or blurred to accentuate the balance between distraction and clarity in daily thought. The images are cerebral and visceral, creating a mood of melancholy and solitude with an appreciation for their necessity and beauty.(https://www.etsy.com/shop/kaisamuelsdavis?ref=l2-shopheader-name#about)
==
This work demonstrates Value as an element of design in that the piece uses similar colors but many different tones to create contrast, drama and variation.
It demonstrates Variety as a principle of design in that there are many contrasting shapes, made by the artist’s knife, while mainly uniform in execution, are varied by position and intensity of color.
==
We chose this work because it illustrates one of the key elements of our theme as the distortion of time. You can see that there are multiple moments being captured but displayed as a single image. There are many things happening at once yet in reality, we don’t have the luxury of being able to examine these states of being in one captured moment.
AND IN THE ENDLESS SOUNDS THERE CAME A PAUSE
AND IN THE ENDLESS SOUNDS THERE CAME A PAUSE
Laminated hand carved wood
H:63 cm W:61 cm D:61 cm
2014
==
Born in 1970, Paul Kaptein is a Perth based artist who is currently working with sculpture and watercolour paintings. His work is broadly concerned with the agency of the present moment. This is evidenced in his painstaking and exquisitely hand carved wooden figures and objects. Gaps between the laminated layers of wood are purposefully left, forming contours for emptiness and visual portals for what lays beyond.
(http://www.turnergalleries.com.au/artists/paul_kaptein.php)
Paul’s work, seemingly bent through time and space, taps into this medium of emptiness, responding to the gap between immateriality and materiality – through the energy we call potential. His work is full of the boundless energy of potentiality loops or loops of potentiality or the realisation that potential is the energy that constantly moves and transforms. Potential is the force that grabs ideas and translates them into being – it is a poetic energy of necessity and a necessary energy for poetics.
(http://www.paulkaptein.com/about/)
==
Born in 1970, Paul Kaptein is a Perth based artist who is currently working with sculpture and watercolour paintings. His work is broadly concerned with the agency of the present moment. This is evidenced in his painstaking and exquisitely hand carved wooden figures and objects. Gaps between the laminated layers of wood are purposefully left, forming contours for emptiness and visual portals for what lays beyond.
(http://www.turnergalleries.com.au/artists/paul_kaptein.php)
Paul’s work, seemingly bent through time and space, taps into this medium of emptiness, responding to the gap between immateriality and materiality – through the energy we call potential. His work is full of the boundless energy of potentiality loops or loops of potentiality or the realisation that potential is the energy that constantly moves and transforms. Potential is the force that grabs ideas and translates them into being – it is a poetic energy of necessity and a necessary energy for poetics.
(http://www.paulkaptein.com/about/)
==
This work demonstrates Texture as an element of design in that one can almost feel the smooth texture of the sculpture - the curves and lines are easily seen.
It demonstrates Balance as a principle of design in that the figure, though asymmetrical, it balances with positive space on one side and negative space on the other.
==
We chose this work because it plays into the theme of being out of sync with reality. It showcases that moment when you start to switch, to fade, to change or shift into something that was beginning to infect you, make you see something that you were only slightly aware of - a glitch in your otherwise sane outwardly appearance - and now you cannot go back.
It demonstrates Balance as a principle of design in that the figure, though asymmetrical, it balances with positive space on one side and negative space on the other.
==
We chose this work because it plays into the theme of being out of sync with reality. It showcases that moment when you start to switch, to fade, to change or shift into something that was beginning to infect you, make you see something that you were only slightly aware of - a glitch in your otherwise sane outwardly appearance - and now you cannot go back.
Melting Ice Cream 3
Mathieu St. Pierre
Melting Ice Cream 3
Pigment Print
81 cm x 144.5 cm
2013
==
Mathieu is a Canadian experimental visual artist who has been working in video art and photography for over 10 years. After receiving a degree in Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal in 2001, a few years later he moved to South Korea where he currently resides. His passion for learning and experimenting with a multitude of video manipulations led him to digital glitches and generative art. He was featured in several publications such as Art Nouveau, Redefine Magazine, 월간미술 (Art Monthly) and the UK newspaper The Guardian. He also created the leading group for glitch art called Glitch Artists Collective.
(http://www.mathieustpierre.com/bio)
“I was experimenting with various layers in Sony Vegas. I superimposed HD videos of my wife that I previously glitched with another program, after messing around with some parameters I was able to come up with those rich colors and very unique waving pattern. It was interesting to go from a very high definition image to something completely abstract and colorful.”
(http://www.hotngoldmag.com/mathieu-st-pierre)
==
This work demonstrates Color as an element of design in that there are a multitude of colors being showcased in the work, drawing the eye from areas of bright to dark and back again.
It demonstrates Variety as a principle of design in that the lines and colors of the piece are almost random, as if the artist purposefully manipulated the work to cause chaos.
==
We chose this work because it clearly shows literal distortion. You can imagine that you are jarred from one state of consciousness to another. Your paradigm has just shifted so suddenly and profoundly that you no longer align with the reality you were previously in. Your vision skews, the transmission is garbled, sound is muffled, your eyes can’t focus on the subject and you start to shut down - lost in this new chaotic reality though suspended in time.
Mathieu is a Canadian experimental visual artist who has been working in video art and photography for over 10 years. After receiving a degree in Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal in 2001, a few years later he moved to South Korea where he currently resides. His passion for learning and experimenting with a multitude of video manipulations led him to digital glitches and generative art. He was featured in several publications such as Art Nouveau, Redefine Magazine, 월간미술 (Art Monthly) and the UK newspaper The Guardian. He also created the leading group for glitch art called Glitch Artists Collective.
(http://www.mathieustpierre.com/bio)
“I was experimenting with various layers in Sony Vegas. I superimposed HD videos of my wife that I previously glitched with another program, after messing around with some parameters I was able to come up with those rich colors and very unique waving pattern. It was interesting to go from a very high definition image to something completely abstract and colorful.”
(http://www.hotngoldmag.com/mathieu-st-pierre)
==
This work demonstrates Color as an element of design in that there are a multitude of colors being showcased in the work, drawing the eye from areas of bright to dark and back again.
It demonstrates Variety as a principle of design in that the lines and colors of the piece are almost random, as if the artist purposefully manipulated the work to cause chaos.
==
We chose this work because it clearly shows literal distortion. You can imagine that you are jarred from one state of consciousness to another. Your paradigm has just shifted so suddenly and profoundly that you no longer align with the reality you were previously in. Your vision skews, the transmission is garbled, sound is muffled, your eyes can’t focus on the subject and you start to shut down - lost in this new chaotic reality though suspended in time.
Léna
Brno Del Zou
Léna
Photo Sculpture
80 cm x 100 cm x 16 cm
2014
==
Brno Del Zou is a photographer, sculptor, video artist, software designer, creator of video / sound / interactive installations. After a PhD in theoretical mechanics (1990), and an information-seeker and communication teaching position at the University of Poitiers (1994-2006), Brno Del Zou now devoted exclusively to his artistic productions. Training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Poitiers.
(http://brnodelzou.ouvaton.org/brno/biobrno.html)
In his "photosculptures" series, Brno Del Zou uses the fragmentation of the body in order to better understand it. The body and the faces are revisited and their volumes are highlighted in order to create installations of multiple scales. These "photosculptures" suggest a clear aesthetic preference which does not hide the chaotic side of our minds. "Beyond the body itself and its beauty, there is its unity. Fragmenting the body, in this case, doesn’t mean cutting it up in order to dissolve it, it means trying to recompose it in the hope to achieve and create unity, an identity, perhaps the fundamental one, the one that supports all the differences, all the variations, all the points of view, which is saved despite everything, despite the light variations and the positions in the space, resisting any immediate apprehension, multiplying as it wishes, without ever losing this unity without which the body itself could not exist.”
(http://www.artsper.com/en/contemporary-artists/france/845/brno-del-zou)
==
This work demonstrates Space as an element of design in that each sub-piece of the photo-sculpture is combined to create the depth of a three-dimensional work. While we're used to seeing photographs as two dimensions, this gives another aspect to consider when viewing the piece.
It demonstrates Unity as a principle of design in that the overall shape of the work is a portrait, yet the individual elements are not, but as viewed together we see the whole piece as a complete portrait.
==
We chose this work because it clearly shows a key element of the theme of the show as the potentiality and in this case, the sum total of a moment. We see it like a capitulation. The moment, that quantum superpostional state has been resolved and we're almost back to the beginning, longing for it. Can we do it again? Can we make the right decision this time? Is it even possible?
Déjà Vu IV
Déjà Vu IV
Tulle fabric and ink, Naantali Taidehuone gallery
70 cm x 300 cm x 400 cm
2011
==
Pia Männikkö is an artist currently living and working in Helsinki, Finland
(https://piamannikko.com/)
The starting point for my work is the body and space, whether intimate or architectural. Movement and volume of the human body is my source of reference and research. I am interested in spaces we occupy and the personal space of an individual, as well as ideas of micro- and macrocosms. Mapping time and attempting to make its patterns visible is also an important concept within my work. Making as a process, creating objects that gradually grow and change is central to my practise. I hope that the playfulness that the working process can give me is accessible also in the end result.
(https://piamannikko.com/about/)
==
This work demonstrates Shape as an element of design in that the person captured in moments in time is recognizable in contrast to the background as a positive shape.
It demonstrates Repetition as a principle of design in that the same subject is repeated on the fabric over and over again.
==
We chose this work because it sums up our journey through the distortion of time. You've come full circle. You're completely disconnected to a single moment in time, you both have and have not made the correct decision and you're damned to walk through it again - second guess yourself, looking backwards at your actions and movements in the past. Forever analyzing how you got to this point, being totally disconnected in time.
Pia Männikkö is an artist currently living and working in Helsinki, Finland
(https://piamannikko.com/)
The starting point for my work is the body and space, whether intimate or architectural. Movement and volume of the human body is my source of reference and research. I am interested in spaces we occupy and the personal space of an individual, as well as ideas of micro- and macrocosms. Mapping time and attempting to make its patterns visible is also an important concept within my work. Making as a process, creating objects that gradually grow and change is central to my practise. I hope that the playfulness that the working process can give me is accessible also in the end result.
(https://piamannikko.com/about/)
==
This work demonstrates Shape as an element of design in that the person captured in moments in time is recognizable in contrast to the background as a positive shape.
It demonstrates Repetition as a principle of design in that the same subject is repeated on the fabric over and over again.
==
We chose this work because it sums up our journey through the distortion of time. You've come full circle. You're completely disconnected to a single moment in time, you both have and have not made the correct decision and you're damned to walk through it again - second guess yourself, looking backwards at your actions and movements in the past. Forever analyzing how you got to this point, being totally disconnected in time.
Conclusion
This was an interesting and thought-provoking assignment. One of the things I learned about the process of organizing an exhibition of works by various artists, is that sometimes it’s hard when you find “that piece" - the one thing that fits the theme or ties another two pieces together perfectly, and lo and behold, it’s made by no one - a random, anonymous whomever that can’t be given the proper credit, so you’re stuck. You can’t use it even though it’s PERFECT. That’s terribly frustrating and I can feel for a curator who goes through the same set of emotions. Being so excited but then totally let down is no fun at all. But by reworking your idea and looking and looking and looking for another piece that’s made by another artist that’s more established or more importantly, documented, allows you to get back in the flow and make the theme work again.
I found that writing about how each piece made me feel was by far the easiest aspect of this process. It’s easy for my to just let how I’m feeling about each work to just kind of flow out in a stream of consciousness. A challenging aspect of this assignment was trying to intelligently describe the pieces in an academic light. Thoughtfully applying the elements and principles of design was a challenging aspect for me.
I found that writing about how each piece made me feel was by far the easiest aspect of this process. It’s easy for my to just let how I’m feeling about each work to just kind of flow out in a stream of consciousness. A challenging aspect of this assignment was trying to intelligently describe the pieces in an academic light. Thoughtfully applying the elements and principles of design was a challenging aspect for me.
I didn’t really understand how involved curating a show was going to be. While the creative side is easier for me to grasp, the logistics of putting it together was much more stressful and the logistical hurdles of doing a physical exhibition must be immense. I suppose the more one does these things, the easier it gets, so by definition, curating a show becomes almost like a piece of art in and of itself.
I thoroughly enjoyed connecting works of art by artists with individual experiences to my theme. I feel that while we are all different, culturally, spiritually, emotionally and otherwise, we are all still human beings and we all share common experience. Love, loss, suffering, grief, confusion and astoundment, we all have common threads running through us. So, in that aspect, it was fairly easy to pick out these threads to stitch them together to my chosen theme.
I thoroughly enjoyed connecting works of art by artists with individual experiences to my theme. I feel that while we are all different, culturally, spiritually, emotionally and otherwise, we are all still human beings and we all share common experience. Love, loss, suffering, grief, confusion and astoundment, we all have common threads running through us. So, in that aspect, it was fairly easy to pick out these threads to stitch them together to my chosen theme.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)