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.

'Poke: A Series of Provocations', Debby and Larry Kline - Exhibition at Mesa College, San Diego

Review by Cathy Breslaw

'Poke: A Series of Provocations'

Mesa College, San Diego

August 26 - September 29th

The Age of Enlightenment (installation detail)

When we walk into an exhibition space we don’t expect to see a store with items for sale. Debby and Larry Kline want to mess with us by taking things out of context.  They present us with beautifully crafted objects – shiny, cute, funny, odd, kinetic, and nostalgic. Just when they reel us in with lightness and humor, we are hit with the question “Wait a minute, what is all this and what does it mean?” At the Mesa College exhibition space they have packed in a lot of punches – from a motorized carousel and ferris wheel made with pharmaceuticals, to a large installation called “The Age of Enlightenment”’ consisting of several large white greek-style columns with relief vignettes of historically significant religious imagery. Included are colorful glossy ceramic containers made partially from ground down pharmaceuticals displayed on the wall, an installation called “The Candy Store” which includes items that poke fun at medications and the healthcare industry and small teddy bears crafted from real tobacco reminding us that cigarettes, regardless of the health risks are marketed to children.  There is also a video and series of photographs related to the Klines ongoing project called "Dinner With the Klines", documenting their restaurant visits with creating small table sized sculptural works entirely made from items from their meal. Immediate and performative in content, the series of short clip videos are entertaining and engaging to any audience. The Klines who are married and long time collaborators, offer us a provocative mix of topical works posing questions we can ponder.

Debby and Larry Kline, Collaborative Artist - Provocateurs Talk about Themselves

Debby and Larry Kline are in love – their marriage and relationship is at the core of their collaborative art projects.  Having been together for over 25 years, and working closely on the art they create, the Klines finish each other’s sentences and converse like a well choreographed dance.

Born and raised in Indianapolis Indiana, the Klines were introduced by a friend while both studied at Indiana University.  They immediately connected and as they describe it, they began to talk in “twin babble” – with a remarkable sense of mutual understanding of one another. Both studied painting, and talked of all night painting stints until they were kicked out of the university studio by a security guard. They noted one professor, Steve Mannheimer as mentor during their college years.  Described as a tough but brilliant teacher, Mannheimer would rip up student drawings and paint on their paintings, constantly questioning their intent and teaching the Klines to more clearly understand their artistic process and goals for their work.

The Age of Enlightenment (detail of installation)

Both Klines worked at the Indianapolis Museum of Art during and after college, though Larry left for graduate school at the Maryland Institute of Art.  It was during this time that Larry’s work shifted from painting into sculpture. Having broken his right hand, he was forced to draw and paint with the left, and though he became good at rendering with his left hand, he began experimenting with using found objects to create sculpture, and would use ‘throw aways’ from other student work and incorporated those into his painting and 3-D work. During this time frame, Debby stayed working at the Indianapolis Museum of Art as an Assistant Registrar, handling the insurance, legal, shipping, safety and security of art works in the collection and works shown at the museum. After receiving his MFA, Larry returned to Indianapolis to work at the IMA doing photography and teaching classes.

Faced with college debts and the recent death of her daughter,Jill, from Leukemia, Debby left her art behind for a time, and received a good offer to be Associate Registrar for the Museum of Contemporary Art in  Chicago, and she and Larry decided to move there.  Both Klines sited Joe Shapiro, one of the founders of the Museum of Contemporary Art as a mentor.  A generous teacher and major art collector, Shapiro taught the Klines that collecting art is do-able – and that collectors are “caretakers” of their art.  He also emphasized the importance of selecting art that is not a ‘quick read’ – art that requires more than one viewing to understand. After five years in Chicago and paying off debts, the Klines were ready for a new challenge. Debby floated her resume at one of the national museum conferences and was hired as Deputy Director of the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. During her time there, Debby also handled the Registrar position and was Co-Acting Director for a time. Faced with budgetary and management issues, there were major staff cuts and the Klines looked for new jobs. The Klines currently teach 3-D Design and Perspective and Rendering at the Design Institute of San Diego and Larry also teaches 3-D Design  at Grossmont College. They also lecture widely on subjects ranging from the nature of creativity to the art of the Holocaust.

Dinner With the Klines (detail of book)

Since they have lived in San Diego County, the Klines have developed a rich and engaging collaborative studio practice.  Their process involves a lot of brainstorming of ideas and ‘play’ as part of their art-making- often keeping a sketchpad in the car for bouncing ideas around on  long trips. They have a strong belief in experimenting with materials and learning self taught new skill sets – sometimes on youtube, as part of each project. They often seek out equipment at garage sales – for example, they found a ceramics kiln for $75  and free molds for their installation works. In order to develop their projects, they hold ‘business meetings’ with each other in order to plan and determine practical decisions about each of their individual responsibilities.

The Candy Store (detail of large installation)

Self described ‘'Provocateurs”, the Klines use beautiful object making and humor to reel people into challenging their own preconceptions about subjects as wide-ranging as healthcare, religion, politics, and commercialism. Their work is as unique as their relationship – They have similar aesthetic sensibilities and share the goal of wanting to help people think differently.  A prime example is their project “The Electric Fields of California” which is an environmental work exposing the powerful Electromagnetic fields surrounding power lines by illuminating fluorescent sculptures without direct hook up to a power source.  This and more of their projects past, current and future can be viewed at: www. jugglingklines.com  In 2013, they won the San Diego Art Prize. They will have several booths at the upcoming San Diego Art Fair in November, 2013. Their show "Poke:A Series of Provocations by Debby and Larry Kline" opens Thursday evening, September 5th, 5-7 pm, lecture to follow, at Mesa College, San Diego.