Han Nguyen's 'Tracing Shadows', Unique Photograms at Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla California

Han Nguyen  ‘Tracing Shadows’

January 11 – March 1, 2014

Jospeh Bellows Gallery, La Jolla CA

Review by Cathy Breslaw

The works by Han Nguyen are a delicate, sensitive, and quietly moving portrayal of organic and natural forms expressed through the use of unique photograms. Simple compositions achieved by exposing arranged natural objects to light leave their marks on photosensitive lightly toned papers. Through the use of plant and rock forms, Nguyen uses light to help us absorb and take notice of the beauty that surrounds us in the natural world.  His works refer back to the early calotypes of Fox Talbot and the plant forms recorded by Blossfeldt.  Photograms, often called ‘camera-less photography’, a process that lies somewhere between photography and printmaking, is a unique way of documenting natural objects.

Leaving only the ‘shadows’ of an object, Nguyen takes us on his journey to recognize his reverence for

nature and the forms they create. His works, displayed in groupings and grids as well as large-scale prints, transcend their object-hood, revealing a meditative and ephemeral quality to the images.

Tracing Shadows #130    unique photogram on gelatin silver paper 2013

Tracing Shadows #44   unique photogram on gelatin silver paper    2011

                                                  

Artist David Adey Explores Self- Identity in "Hither and Yon", Scott White Contemporary, La Jolla, California

Hither and Yon is a combination of two-dimensional fragmented images of body parts laser cut on paper and arranged in three dimensional space, electronic works and sculptural installations. David Adey is inspired by concepts and ideas related to pop culture, outer space, mortality and resurrection, religion and self identity.  A central work is ‘Hide’, Adey’s exploration of the skin and surface of the human body where he gleaned 75,000 triangles from a 3-D model of his own body, that was peeled and flattened in one piece. He then used straight pins punched into each piece meticulously placed and arranged on a plastic board resulting in a ten by nine foot symmetrical diptych. Besides the deconstructed self mapping works, ‘Omega Man’ contemplates our human experience of ‘time’ with numerical electronic boards that are a visual countdown from one trillion seconds to zero with numbers moving in and out using Russian-surplus nixie tubes and the use of synchronized timers with GPS receivers. ‘Life Clock’ is a personal piece. Working with Jeremy Clear, a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Adey’s expected time of death was calculated down to the second based on his family history, lifestyle and health data. ‘Flock”, a sculptural installation piece, is comprised of forty ceramic sheep made from the same mold that are leashed together by electrical cords connected to the same power source that lights a pink neon halo around each sheep’s head. This piece explores our notions of conflict between self identity and following the group. ‘Fill My Cup’ is a fourteen foot singular tower comprised of ordinary commercially produced cups and containers of varying sizes – everything from small plastic cups to Starbucks cups, 7-11 Big Gulp to plastic large trash barrels – each sitting inside one another. This work sheds light on our consumer insatiability and consumerism in general.  David Adey’s exhibition is  powerfully provocative – the works elicit deeply human questions about our individual place on earth, in the universe, and how we interact and navigate our way through our lives.

The show opens Saturday, January 11th and runs through February 15th.

Flock   ceramic lambs, neon halos, electronics and wiring

Hide   laser cut paper, fluorescent acrylic and pins on pvc foam panels   120" x54" diptych

Jason Godeke, Classical Oil Painter with a Contemporary Vision, R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, California

Jason Godeke

“Descendants”

R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA

Exhibition opens Saturday, January 11 and closes February 21st

Jason Godeke is an accomplished classical oil painter who uses the backdrop of still life and landscapes to play out theatrical narratives that include toy-like figurines that appear to be part human, and part machine.Though beautifully painted flowers, fruit and cloud filled landscapes create the atmosphere of the works, there is the sense of foreboding – and the figures which appear to be mythological and symbolic, provide a glimpse into Godeke’s personal journey.  “Contemplating My Inert Psyche”, his largest painting in the show, is of two men - one who is a human, dressed figure and the other a copy of the man, naked, who appears to be made of rock and metal. The two who are facing each other, with symbolically placed oversized fruit between them, are set against a warm-toned bucolic landscape with dramatic lighting applied to the figures. Titles of the paintings like “Passing the Burden”, “Adrift”, “Wandering Companions”, “Setting Forth Alone”, and “Torpor” all seem to provide clues to the themes of his work. His use of a combination of realism and surrealism serve to explore the personal challenges and complexities of being human in our contemporary world.

 

Contemplating My Inert Psyche   oil on  canvas   70" x 78"

Windfall   oil on canvas   22" x 24"