AMOS ENO GALLERY :: EXHIBITIONS

Recent Exhibitions:

Endless Summer

Marina Reiter

June 2 - June 26, 2010

RECEPTION
Thursday, June 3, 5:30-8:30 PM

In her most recent series of work titled Endless Summer, Marina Reiter is exploring the interconnectedness of things and events, our complex human interactions and relationships. For Ms. Reiter, these connections are important, as she says, “We enter this world to reach out and connect. We reach out, we touch, we learn from one another. We are not bound by our human bodily existence, nor space and time”.

Influenced by the work of Wassily Kandinsky, Marina Reiter’s paintings channel the spirit of Surreal Abstraction and Constructivism. The smooth organic shapes give the impression of three-dimensional depth, heightened by the soft flatness of shimmering pastel backgrounds. Careful balance of color and form ensures a harmony throughout the composition.

Marina’s work is a joyful and colorful celebration of everything that unites us and pulls us apart. Often connected by intersecting lines and hashes, her biomorphic creatures represent the basic fundamental essences of our souls, which float in perpetual congress. The colorful, immersive paintings speak to contemporary experiences of a world, in which people are more connected than ever, and simultaneously are more vulnerable to feelings of alienation than in any preceding day and age.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Marina Reiter currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY

UNWANTED LITERATURE

ANTHONY CUNEO

MAY 5 - MAY 29, 2010

RECEPTION:
Thursday, May 6, 5:30-8:30 PM

I have thought of this group of paintings as “Unwanted Literature” for some time now. The phrase comes from a poem, “London Airport,” by Christopher Logue. One of my favorite students gave me a slip of paper with the poem on it for “Poem in My Pocket” day several years ago and it resonated with me immediately. The poem has a playful tone and implies wryly that an artist (poet or painter) has to let a finished piece go out into the world to find its own way (or not find, for that matter).

The paintings in this show are small and exploratory in spirit. I decided early on to set a few rules for myself in making them. The first was that I was going to go in whatever direction the paintings took me. I like to discover what my paintings are about in the process of making them and their companions. The second was that I was going to ignore the strictures of consistency. Any unity in this body of paintings comes from the shared format, the underlying grid that I find I enjoy working against, and from the simple fact that they all came from one hand. The third was that my yardstick for judging them was going to be visual. Duke Ellington recognized, in regard to music, that “if it sounds good, it is good.” I think that, if a painting looks good, it is good. Granted, there will be a lot of disagreement about what looks good, but my fourth guideline was that I was going to do what I liked and wanted to do, and let the rest of the world take care of its own opinions.

I discovered a lot of pleasure in making these paintings (that is not to say that they are all about sunshine and rainbows). I like slopping paint around. It’s the most basic reason I wanted to be an artist as a kid and it’s still a fine reason to make art. We have come to distrust the visual and the finger-painter in all of us. Somehow they don’t seem thorny and intellectual enough or, alternately, ironic, meta and self-conscious enough. They are deeply, deeply satisfying though. Art is one of the most natural things in the world, fundamentally useless, but hugely pleasurable and very important. I hope some of you find enjoyment in these paintings.

— Anthony Cuneo, 2010

WALLWORKS (CASTINGS: OF MEN & BEASTS)

WALT SWALES

APRIL 7 - MAY 1, 2010

RECEPTION
Saturday, April 10, 2-5pm

Historically, my work has dealt with those issues than define us as human beings: procreation, sexuality, vulnerability, religiosity, genesis, mortality. The forms have been minimally based, as severe as the issues themselves.

In my current body of work, a sequel to a previous set of concerns, I deal with another aspect of what it is to be human: play. And such an issue is congruent with a viewpoint about art making: art is adult play. Castings: of Men and Beasts is the literal thrust of my forthcoming exhibition at the Amos Eno Gallery (April 7-May 1) in regard to imagery exploited, but the show is formally rather than ideologically based. I have made molds of actual deer and replica human skulls, pulled waxes, and played, creatively, intellectually and physically. Formal issues like positive and negative space, texture, representational, abstraction are the ground for the works, as I developed them quickly and on an intuit/expressionist basis. I have sought tension and resolution with the designs of the works. The waxes were ultimately translated into bronze through the lost-wax casting process.

I then manipulate the surfaces of the castings with paint. I am not a colorist or surface designer by inclination. But I want surface design and color to be issues in this series,

As an academic exercise and as means to excite three-dimensional forms executed through a very traditional and historically significant process. As with the forms themselves, I trust myself with the painted surfaces. My conclusion: form tells the sculptor when a piece is finished. Surface is much more ambiguous, elusive. And such, perhaps, is the nature of both life and art.


	Current Exhibition: Crossroads, Seven Acts Featuring: Eric Banks, Tulu Bayar, Lacey Kim, William Richardson, Marina Reiter, Sun Young Seo, Margaret Withers JUNE 30 - JULY 31, 2010 RECEPTION Thursday, July 1, 5:30-8:30 PM Amos Eno Gallery is pleased to present Crossroads/Seven Acts, a group show of our newest members. The show consists of painting, sculpture, and photography, which express the artistic range of our members. Eric Banks’ works attempt to exist in a space that vacillates between the inner space of human consciousness and the outer realm of an incomprehensible infinite. His forms, conceived in the painting process are suggestive of the actual, but remain elusive in states of being and becoming. Tulu Bayar’s work lends itself to an interpretive experience that goes beyond merely the visual. By offering historical, cultural and political references, her work is charged with symbols that allow the audience to participate and interpret. Her piece Out Of the Blue states, “The desert is dry and lonely; yet the desert is not deserted.” Taken on a journey through the Taklamakan Desert, Northwestern China. Lacey Kim’s work distances itself from the actual world. It expresses what does not exist in a clear form, and presents a balanced conflict. Through lines in free motion, Ms. Kim hopes to embody the world of unconsciousness, to convey the feeling of movement generated by laying one line on another, and to share with viewers what she has felt in the process of her work. William Richardson is a sculptor working in mild steel, Corten, iron, stainless and aluminum. He uses industrial forms comprised of steel plate, angle iron, I beam, H beam, bar stock and other components commonly found in heavy construction. These materials are joined by oxy-acetylene, SMAW, TIG, MIG or Thermit welding and then drilled and tapped for assembly. Influenced by the work of Wassily Kandinsky, Marina Reiter’s paintings channel the spirit of Surreal Abstraction and Constructivism. The smooth organic shapes give the impression of three-dimensional depth, heightened by the soft flatness of shimmering pastel backgrounds. Careful balance of color and form ensures a harmony throughout the composition. Sun Young Seo thinks of her work as an abstract reflection of emotions around her. The motive of her theme started from interest in wild life. Especially insectivorous plants, its aggressive mutant like character led her to reveal emotions as a human being: religiosity, jealousy, mortality, and selfishness from her experiences in life. A spiritual experience related to the sensitivity of emotion affects her work as an instinctively strong energy. Margaret Withers’ new work explores the sensation of having a dearth of memories and how that loss informs her current sense of self. Through her painterly creatures, use of color, form and mixed media she explores the feeling of being unfettered to her past while at the same time coupled to its effect.
	Recent Exhibitions: Endless Summer Marina Reiter June 2 - June 26, 2010 RECEPTION Thursday, June 3, 5:30-8:30 PM In her most recent series of work titled Endless Summer, Marina Reiter is exploring the interconnectedness of things and events, our complex human interactions and relationships. For Ms. Reiter, these connections are important, as she says, “We enter this world to reach out and connect. We reach out, we touch, we learn from one another. We are not bound by our human bodily existence, nor space and time”. Influenced by the work of Wassily Kandinsky, Marina Reiter’s paintings channel the spirit of Surreal Abstraction and Constructivism. The smooth organic shapes give the impression of three-dimensional depth, heightened by the soft flatness of shimmering pastel backgrounds. Careful balance of color and form ensures a harmony throughout the composition. Marina’s work is a joyful and colorful celebration of everything that unites us and pulls us apart. Often connected by intersecting lines and hashes, her biomorphic creatures represent the basic fundamental essences of our souls, which float in perpetual congress. The colorful, immersive paintings speak to contemporary experiences of a world, in which people are more connected than ever, and simultaneously are more vulnerable to feelings of alienation than in any preceding day and age. Born in Moscow, Russia, Marina Reiter currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY UNWANTED LITERATURE ANTHONY CUNEO MAY 5 - MAY 29, 2010 RECEPTION: Thursday, May 6, 5:30-8:30 PM I have thought of this group of paintings as “Unwanted Literature” for some time now. The phrase comes from a poem, “London Airport,” by Christopher Logue. One of my favorite students gave me a slip of paper with the poem on it for “Poem in My Pocket” day several years ago and it resonated with me immediately. The poem has a playful tone and implies wryly that an artist (poet or painter) has to let a finished piece go out into the world to find its own way (or not find, for that matter). The paintings in this show are small and exploratory in spirit. I decided early on to set a few rules for myself in making them. The first was that I was going to go in whatever direction the paintings took me. I like to discover what my paintings are about in the process of making them and their companions. The second was that I was going to ignore the strictures of consistency. Any unity in this body of paintings comes from the shared format, the underlying grid that I find I enjoy working against, and from the simple fact that they all came from one hand. The third was that my yardstick for judging them was going to be visual. Duke Ellington recognized, in regard to music, that “if it sounds good, it is good.” I think that, if a painting looks good, it is good. Granted, there will be a lot of disagreement about what looks good, but my fourth guideline was that I was going to do what I liked and wanted to do, and let the rest of the world take care of its own opinions. I discovered a lot of pleasure in making these paintings (that is not to say that they are all about sunshine and rainbows). I like slopping paint around. It’s the most basic reason I wanted to be an artist as a kid and it’s still a fine reason to make art. We have come to distrust the visual and the finger-painter in all of us. Somehow they don’t seem thorny and intellectual enough or, alternately, ironic, meta and self-conscious enough. They are deeply, deeply satisfying though. Art is one of the most natural things in the world, fundamentally useless, but hugely pleasurable and very important. I hope some of you find enjoyment in these paintings. — Anthony Cuneo, 2010 WALLWORKS (CASTINGS: OF MEN & BEASTS) WALT SWALES APRIL 7 - MAY 1, 2010 RECEPTION Saturday, April 10, 2-5pm Historically, my work has dealt with those issues than define us as human beings: procreation, sexuality, vulnerability, religiosity, genesis, mortality. The forms have been minimally based, as severe as the issues themselves. In my current body of work, a sequel to a previous set of concerns, I deal with another aspect of what it is to be human: play. And such an issue is congruent with a viewpoint about art making: art is adult play. Castings: of Men and Beasts is the literal thrust of my forthcoming exhibition at the Amos Eno Gallery (April 7-May 1) in regard to imagery exploited, but the show is formally rather than ideologically based. I have made molds of actual deer and replica human skulls, pulled waxes, and played, creatively, intellectually and physically. Formal issues like positive and negative space, texture, representational, abstraction are the ground for the works, as I developed them quickly and on an intuit/expressionist basis. I have sought tension and resolution with the designs of the works. The waxes were ultimately translated into bronze through the lost-wax casting process. I then manipulate the surfaces of the castings with paint. I am not a colorist or surface designer by inclination. But I want surface design and color to be issues in this series, As an academic exercise and as means to excite three-dimensional forms executed through a very traditional and historically significant process. As with the forms themselves, I trust myself with the painted surfaces. My conclusion: form tells the sculptor when a piece is finished. Surface is much more ambiguous, elusive. And such, perhaps, is the nature of both life and art.

Crossroads, Seven Acts

Endless Summer

UNWANTED LITERATURE

WALLWORKS (CASTINGS: OF MEN & BEASTS)