What's New in the Studio? Monthly Update on Cathy Breslaw's New Work

If you are not an artist you may not be aware of how art pieces are developed and created. For me, it's ongoing large blocks of time spent in the studio - trial and error - lots of errors...then figuring out a direction. This series called 'Atmospheres' came about in my determination to express the invisible fleeting momentary feelings and thoughts of the inner and outer spaces in our human experience. I am doing this through using many layers of mesh  for each work and using spray paints to convey the shifts and transitions of colors through the mesh.

Some are medium scale and some are quite small, each claiming a particular 'note' of experience. The process of creation is a vulnerable time for me as nothing is set in stone - i may scrap these works and replace w/ new ones...
all of this remains to be seen.

Gagosian Gallery Exhibition of Cecily Brown's Figurative Ensemble Paintings, Through October 12

Be Nice to the Big Blue Sea, 2012

©Cecily Brown. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Rob McKeever”.

Cecily Brown’s exhibition of recent works pays homage to the historical tradition of nude ensemble painting.  Every inch of these mostly large scale works are packed with fragmented figures, faces and body parts.  These often anonymous body forms are vigorously painted and are often dominated by orange and fleshy color combinations. Brown’s mark-making and gestural execution of the often hide-and-seek images are reminiscent of DeKooning’s  work and abstract expressionism. There is beauty and liveliness in Brown’s brushstrokes and a confident energy in the way she lays down color. She appears to dance from one monumental painting to the next, seemingly never skipping a beat yet the content belies her painterly technique.  It is sometimes exhausting and uncomfortably challenging in the process of trying to decipher the subject matter in her paintings. Though the canvases are strong in their formal considerations, we have to wonder what Brown is trying to communicate. Is she commenting on the sometimes confusing and overwhelming multi-dimensional complexities and realities of 21^st century life? It’s as if Brown wants us to walk away with questions – so we will come back for more. Her four relatively small works in the rear gallery give us a glimpse of a more personal intimate connection with Brown’s ability to draw us in and keep us there for a while.

Photographer Gregory Conniff's First West Coast Exhibition, Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA

Madison, WI, 1979, vintage gelatin silver print  16" x 20"

Gregory Conniff wants us to notice the ordinary details of our visual world, especially houses, buildings and our surrounding landscape.  His 37 vintage gelatin silver prints, measuring 16” x 20” are black and white and cover the years 1979-1982. Some of the photos in this exhibition have never been shown.  Taken in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington D.C., these images and others were featured in Conniff’s first book “Common Ground” which the scholar John A. Kouwenhoven called “a major event in the history of photography”. Conniff’s everyday landscapes depict domestic architecture – houses, and the fences, gardens and land adjoining these homes.  These seemingly straightforward photographs, once studied, reveal a beautiful geometry within our ordinary surroundings.  The images emphasize spatial relationships and depth and call attention to the repetition of detailed shapes, shadows, and the juxtaposition of organic and built forms. Conniff wants us to notice what is common, but often invisible – the space around homes and vegetation, the shadows that trees cast on buildings and porches, the repetition of the slats on roofs and its relationship to the slats on buildings, steps and picket fences. His images are of a quiet and mostly organized world void of people but filled with the relationships of our personal landscapes. Exhibition runs through October 26th, Joseph Bellows Gallery.

Richard Allen Morris, A Painter's Painter - 'Quick Draw' PREVIEW of Morris's show opening Sept 14,R.B. Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla

The Muse, 2013, ink on paper, 11" x 8 1/2"

Over 240 small jewels grace the walls of R.B. Stevenson Gallery – hung salon style. Richard Allen Morris, often referred to as a ‘painter’s painter, has lived and worked in San Diego since 1956. At age 80, Morris’s work continues to gain momentum and the recognition it deserves. His paintings, mixed media assemblages and portraits are in museum and private collections in the U.S. and abroad.  “Quick Draw” is a collection of works, most of which are smaller than 8 ½ x 11inches.  The artist selected the frames, each unique and distinctive with it’s own character, melding nicely with each art piece.  Consistent with his abstract expressionistic style, many of the works are fresh, spontaneous and gestural in their creation.  Works made from collage, ink, graphite, and paint are masterfully executed – showing the span of Morris’s oeuvre.  Often bold and playful, these tiny gems appear as snippets - observations and impressions Morris has of the world around him. Also present in these pieces is his experimental spirit and continuing curiosity about drawing and painting. Though this exhibition doesn’t cover the scale, dimensionality or depth of Morris’s many bodies of work, it is a thoughtful insight into this dedicated and accomplished artist and perhaps an introduction for those not familiar with his art.