With Abandon
Group exhibition of former students, SDSU
Guest curated by Ginger Shulick Porcella, Executive Director,
San Diego Art Institute
Through November 6th
Through November 6th
Article by Cathy Breslaw
With Abandon
is a group exhibition of fourteen former students of San Diego State University
who graduated within the past five years, and one student working toward an MFA.
The artworks include a fabrication of materials, metal and wood craft and the
repurposing of found objects in the form of installation, sculpture, ceramics, video,
painting, book-making and photographic prints. Though each artist offers
varying perspectives in the nature and purpose of their work, there does appear
to be a commonality of an almost obsessive attention to craft and detail. Ainsly Buhl’s installation created with
coffee straws, wood and wire, and Aren Skalman’s mixed media and found objects
installation seem to bounce off of one another – the former lending an exacting
display of layers of carefully constructed very long strands of two toned red
straws emanating from the wall equally from a wood and wire central base, while
Skalman’s work appears to be a randomly placed mixture of various short and
long colorful shapes hanging from the wall suggesting some kind of communication
system we are not familiar with.
Chelsea Herman’s Artist book
(Chiné-colle etchings, text handset Bembo and printed letterpress on Stonehenge
paper) and Tammy Young Eun Kim’s 3-D printed sandstone,
alumide, brass, steel and silver small sculptural forms share a
quiet and poetic sensibility with a delicate and subtle sense of beauty and
focus on craft. Lee M. Lavy’s installation of found posts are arranged within
the gallery’s central space, each fulfilling a different size and character,
mostly all weathered by time from their former ‘home’, telling a story
seemingly marked by territory, allowing viewers to roam within and around each
post, giving us access to a ‘close up’ view. Adam John Manley’s two 12 foot
wood and acrylic installation works share Lavy’s marking of territory with his works’ pointing
of ‘to’ and ‘from’ arrows giving directions to viewers within the landscape of
the gallery space. The works of Maricarmen Olimón and Amanda Packer share a
vulnerability in their more personal and intimate art pieces created from
clay(Oliman) and copper, silver and brass with thread and paint
jewelry(Packer). Kaiya Rainbolt’s minimalist sculpture(65” x 38” x36”) sitting
only inches above the floor, uses twin mattresses twisted in a symmetrical ‘knot’
– This work seems to sit between a humorous and sober theme. Artist Phil
Rowland uses the objects of hammer and axe heads, using ash, maple, oak and
walnut woods to create his highly well-crafted conceptual works. Rowland’s
pieces reflect a surprising sense of humor.
Michael Rybicki’s 8 foot concrete and
wood installation leans on a central column adjacent to Lavy’s posts and while
they relate to one another, Rybicki’s ‘sculpture’ seems to have the hand of the
artist in it’s making. Marisa Scheinfeld’s chromogenic prints are both formally
and compositionally very beautiful. In
contrast, the subject matter is of abandoned buildings reminiscent of old-school
soda fountain seating in a restaurant that saw better days. There is a certain
feeling of nostalgia and good memories in these richly hued prints. Kurosh Yahyai’s
oil on canvas and adjacent installation of wood, steel and mixed media is a
heavy themed work portraying a 'looming' female figure, in a dark environment with light shone on her face. Ashley Fenderson’s
installation created in the loading dock area of the gallery is a huge roundish
art piece dense with organic and man-made materials filled with the stuff we
see along highways blowing in the wind. It is mysterious, and both visually
appealing and raw in its presence. There are no hidden agendas in the works of
this exhibition – with a range of materials, techniques and artist’s intent,
the works serve viewers a fascinating look at nicely crafted, distinctive and
personal works by artists trained at San Diego State University.
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| Adam John Manley Itinerant Landmarks |
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| Chelsea Herman Artist book (Chiné-colle etchings, text handset Bembo and printed letterpress on Stonehenge paper) |
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| Artist Lee M. Lavey with his installation Outposts |
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| Amanda Packer Recollect: A Collection of Pendants, 2013 |
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| Kaiya Rainbolt Aposiopesis #3 Confusion, 2016 |
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| Artist, Ashley Fenderson working on her installation Ghost |
