May 14 - June 18, 2015
Wasmer Gallery - Curated by Vernon Ennis
Sponsored in honor of Rona Steingart
Stand Before Us is an opportunity to look at the work of four artists, two working in color, one a painter and one a photographer as well as two artists working in black and white, also one painter and one photographer. In directly comparing their work, we can explore what decisions they were confronted with during the creative process and how they addressed them. We examine how each artist came to create their compositions and what they had, or didn’t have in common.
Visual composition can be an even playing ground when comparing painting and photography. How the composition is created differs greatly for each type of artist. A painter may choose to place elements on their surface in a way such that an intentional composition is created. A photographer may reposition their body and camera thus adjusting their line of sight and focus in such a way that the composition is altered in order to accomplish a successful composition. There are elements a painter may choose not to control, such as dripping of paint or pulling with a trowel resulting in only a partially controlled outcome. Just as the painter, the photographer may choose to photograph elements that are outside of their control such as water movement and the result of wind. These uncontrolled elements are experiments that can propel the work forward and inspire the artist. Both artists address the unexpected or uncontrolled result and either embrace and build on the element or destroy and reject the element. They are ultimately in control of that decision.
