Openings: Joel Swanson and Ian Fisher at MCA Denver

                                                                                                              

There was double the fun at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) on Friday night, with the openings of two exhibitions from two contemporary Denver artists: Joel Swanson and Ian Fisher. The museum galleries buzzed with a consistent and excited crowd, all coming out to celebrate these two talented locals. The combination of these shows - one an interactive exhibit that keeps people moving through the galleries (Swanson), the other a reflective and peaceful exhibit inviting guests to stand and ponder - gave the audience a varied experience.

Swanson, a 36 year old Chicago-born artist, designer and writer, currently lives and works in Denver while also serving as Director of the Technology, Arts & Media Program at UC, Boulder. His show at the MCA, Joel Swanson: Left to Right, Top to Bottom, which runs through March 30th of this year, has some great sculptures, photographs and installations that enables the viewer to discover new meanings of everyday words and symbols. The artist keeps you moving, thinking, laughing, questioning and learning in a way that makes you think twice about the English language and how we communicate.

Joel Swanson, Logic Only Works in Two Dimensions, 2014
Fabricated Aluminum and steel cable

Drawing upon linguistics and conceptual art theories from the 1960's, Swanson's sculptures and installations bring to light the complexities and ambiguity of language in modern times. His inspiration is found in that of familiar symbols, phrases and grammar; his creative process made relevant by today's technology focused and digitally driven society. Furthermore, what makes his work so successful is the way his works bring the viewer into his explorations. For example, Logic Only Works in Two Dimensions (2014) - a sculpture made of fabricated aluminum and steel cable that dangles a large-scale greater-than/less-than symbol rotating just a few feet above the floor - places the viewer in an important position of translating the symbol's meaning depending on where he or she is standing. While the "<" and ">" symbols represent the inequality between two numbers or expressions in mathematics, they also have a place in the English language as well as in the language of computer programming. Thus, Swanson points towards the dichotomy between the two symbols, ultimately revealing the fact that the meaning of a symbol can refer to it's exact opposite, and that "translation" isn't as black and white as our own understanding of communication leads us to believe. To watch a video of this piece, click here. 

Joel Swanson, t/here (2013), neon, 8" x 30"

Another highlight of Swanson's show was his piece titled "Homophone" (2013), a wall installation with a holographic surface that reads the words "right," "write," and "rite" depending on where the viewer is standing. While a homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, the piece illustrates Swanson's motivation to complicate the relationship between the images we see and the text that we read. I found Swanson's attempt to mess with the viewer to be playful as it encourages guests to move around the work to eye it from different angles. These motivations are what drive Swanson's creativity, and I must say, his aims are achieved through this process, keeping conceptual art stimulating and leaving us wanting more of his brilliance. 
 

Ian Fisher, Atmosphere No. 50 (Follow you into the Dark), 2014
Oil on Canvas

Just about the same age as his contemporary, Ian Fisher was born in the 80's in Nova Scotia, Canada, transplanting to Colorado to receive his BFA from the UC Boulder in 2006. Living and working in Denver, Fisher is currently represented by Robischon Gallery in the city's LoDo district. His show at the MCA, titled Critical Focus: Ian Fisher, on view through April 13, 2014, is the artist's first solo museum exhibition and highlights his continued exploration in painting and his interest in clouds and skyscapes as subject matter. 

Fisher's oils on canvas are large in scale, bringing his beautiful imagery face to face with the viewer with a "zoomed-in" effect. Despite painting on a two dimensional surface, Fisher's skilled hand creates so much movement that you feel as though you could be pulled from the room in which you stand and float into the dreamy, atmospheric space before you. By using photographic documentation as his source material, the artist is able to produce a snap-shot in time, allowing us to revel in quiet reflection. 

Ian Fisher, Atmosphere No. 34, 2011, Oil on Canvas

With their bold colors, which are somewhat abstract in form, these paintings are quite powerful and evoke feelings of mystery, awe, and nostalgia. Bringing to mind Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, there seems to be some cognizance of the Almighty above which pervades many of the works in this show. Who knows if that is Fisher's intention or not - maybe it's just my own nostalgic feelings while experiencing the work. Nevertheless, I found this to be an impressive quality of his work. Also impressive (maybe even more so) is the fact that Fisher is able to dodge the kind of "kitschiness" that this imagery is so often be characterized by.

For more information on these two artists, visit TANK Studios where both Swanson and Fisher are members of here in Denver. Also be sure to check out MCA Denver's website to learn more about their current exhibits, as well as their Facebook page where you'll find more pictures and installation shots of both shows. 

Laura Krudener "Suspended Chaos" at Plus Gallery

 

Laura Krudener's first solo exhibition received a great response on its opening night at Plus Gallery,  where Krudener is represented in Denver, CO. Titled "Suspended Chaos," the show presents the artist's exciting new body of work. Comprised of eight large scale paintings, these works examine the ways in which we struggle to find stillness amongst a society that runs on endless news feeds, an overload of information and visually stimulating content. 

The sporadic movement captured on Krudener's raw canvases juxtaposes the thick and heavy weight of her paint pours, which she applies from above the canvas. The bold colors of enamel and acrylic paint explode against one another - creating a color discord, somewhat, with pinks, oranges, blues, and yellows all fighting for attention and yet floating together. Additionally, each work is embellished with unique mark making, where Krudener uses marker and charcoal to follow along some of the pours or to become an extension of them. 

Dripping in Gold, 2013, Acrylic, enamel, charcoal, and marker on raw canvas, 60 x 60 in.

Krudener's process is entirely additive, meaning each pour and action sets the stage for the next motion until the painting reaches its completion. This, combined with her unplanned compositions and the receding edges of her canvases, result in a stunning effect that literally leave the the works hanging in suspension. It is as if, when we look at these paintings, we are actually looking into our own lives, hanging in the delicate balance of always being "on the go" while attempting to find the peace and stillness we all are seeking. 

Awakened Dreamers, 2013, Acrylic, enamel, charcoal, and marker on raw canvas, 84x108 in.

It is altogether beautiful yet eery, the way Krudener can make these seemingly simple observations and create works that are truly of this time and which speak to our souls. That said, this new body of work certainly attributes to her recognition as a standout artist amongst the field of abstract expressionism - one many say has over saturated today's art market. Rather than giving us more of the same, Krudener is contributing to the longstanding tradition of abstract expressionism by capturing an emotional intensity that speaks to our spirituality and uncovers our deepest feelings. After spending some time with these works, I find myself contemplating their meanings days later - their bold colors and sweeping movements still resonating - and ultimately, what they mean to me.

Twisted and Unraveling (Triptych), 2013, Acrylic, enamel, charcoal, and marker on raw canvas 36 x 36 in.

Laura Krudener is an abstract painter living and working in Denver, Colorado. She was recently profiled in this month's Colorado edition of Luxe Magazine and on the online magazine Curbed.com, which you can see here http://curbed.com/archives/2013/08/28/inside-the-edgy-interiors-of-elizabeth-bolognino.php. You can also visit the artist's personal website at http://laurakrudener.com/.

What is drawing?

 

At the Clyfford Still Museum's Fall Keynote this month, Brett Littman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center - a non-profit fine arts institution in New York City whose mission and program focuses solely on the exhibition of drawings - gave his audience a wonderful presentation on the relationship between drawing and painting within an artists creative process. Simply titled "Drawing = Painting," the lecture commenced the museum's fall exhibition Drawing/Painting/Process, on view October 4, 2013 - February 9, 2014. 

To highlight this drawing/painting relationship, and how artists use drawing to support painting and vice versa, Littman references five recent exhibitions that he has curated for The Drawing Center during his tenure, including that of Leon Golub, Gerhard Richter, Guillermo Kuitca, Giosetta Fioroni and Sean Scully. The result is that we as an audience left knowing more about the complexities in which artist's use drawing: as a conceptual tool to examine their ideas about painting. 

For that of Leon Golub and Gerhard Richter, probably the most well known of the group from a historical standpoint, most of us would identify them as mainly painters - I know I certainly always have, before Littman bestowed his wisdom onto the audience. What we learn is that drawing has a strong place in these two powerful painter's careers whether they were aware of it or not. Richter, who vocalized his belief of drawing being an illegitimate art form in 1964, certainly leaned on drawing as he made hundreds of them through his career. Although he didn't prefer to exhibit or display them, drawing was a space of experimentation for Richter. He started drawing from photographs, his main source material, and drawing became a very personal place in which to think things through. Similarly, Golub never did a sketch of his paintings prior to 1960. Instead, he used his source material (also photographs) as inspiration and as his sketchbook. What Littman emphasizes here is that through this process, and through the skeleton structures in many of the artist's works, Golub ultimately drew his paintings. 
 

Gerhard Richter, R.O., 22.1.1984 , 1984. Watercolor on paper, 5 1/8 x 7 1/8 inches. 

 

Leon Golub, LIVE & DIE LIKE A LION?, 2002, Oil stick on Bristol, 8 x 10 inches. 

Another artist who I was surprised to learn had drawing practices was Sean Scully. Well-known as painter who engages the traditions of abstract expressionism and minimalism, Scully's non-figurative works concentrate on geometric forms, most notably "the stripe" which made his mark on art history. Although he began painting in the late 1960's and early 1970's, we quickly learn through Littman's discussion that Scully created many drawings in the year of 1974-75. Included are that of acrylic, ink, graphite and masking-tape drawings as well as sketches from a personal notebook, all which show the presence of important characteristics from his later works (1980's - present). Thus, as Scully used drawing in a more traditional way, we see that his evolution as a painter easily traces back to the aesthetics of his early drawings.

Sean Scully, Change #7 (detail), 1975. Acrylic and tape on paper, 22 1/2 x 30 2/3 inches. 

Giosetta Fioroni, a postwar Italian artist, is probably the one I enjoyed learning most about in Littman's lecture, maybe because I had never known of her name or work prior. This comes to no surprise though, as we know little about Italian Pop Art compared to that of the Pop Art icons who gained such fame in America (artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg come to mind). Like her American contemporaries though, Fioroni responded to the developing commercial culture in her work, using such source material as glamour images and images from films. Distinguishing her practice from that of her peers, we learn, is her use of large canvases that employ silver paint and hand-rendering with graphite pencil, in which drawing remained at the forefront of her work. Littman also points toward Fioroni's layering of drawing with painting - where does drawing begin and end? They are impossible to separate in these built images. 

Giosetta Fioroni, Ragazza TV (TV Girl), 1964-1965, pencil, white and aluminum enamel on canvas, 44 13/16 x 57 1/2 inches. - See more at: http://www.artcritical.com/2013/05/22/giosetta-fioroni/#sthash.MKge71mK.dpuf

Giosetta Fioroni, Ragazza TV (TV Girl), 1964-1965, pencil, white and aluminum enamel on canvas, 44 13/16 x 57 1/2 inches.

Giosetta Fioroni, Ragazza TV (TV Girl), 1964-1965, pencil, white and aluminum enamel on canvas, 44 13/16 x 57 1/2 inches. - See more at: http://www.artcritical.com/2013/05/22/giosetta-fioroni/#sthash.MKge71mK.dpuf

Giosetta Fioroni, Ragazza TV (TV Girl), 1964-1965, pencil, white and aluminum enamel on canvas, 44 13/16 x 57 1/2 inches. - See more at: http://www.artcritical.com/2013/05/22/giosetta-fioroni/#sthash.MKge71mK.dpuf

The work of Guillermo Kuitca, an contemporary Argentinean artist working out of Buenos Aires, is internationally recognized and exhibited across the globe. Like the other artist Littman presents, Kuitca is a painter. According to Littman, Kuitca does draw but the drawings come long after the paintings - an artists way of deconstructing paintings through drawing. Since the mid-1990's, Kuitca has been creating what he calls "The Diarios," in which he takes discarded canvases, stretches them over a table and spends months at a time creating marks, both intentional and accidental. These marks include doodles, drawings and everyday recordings on the canvases surface such as phone numbers, titles of paintings, email address, list making, blank spots where books sat, and collages that result in a sort of transparent record keeping of the artist's life. The exhibition of these works, which Littman curated, traveled to Denver's own Museum of Contemporary Art which was on view from June 21 - September 15 of this year.

  

Guillermo Kuitca, Diario (25 May – 20 October 2005). Mixed media on paper, 47 1/4 inches diameter (1 5/8 inches deep).

The example of Guillermo Kuitca's works in Littman's presentation might have been the most challenging for me in terms of seeing the work as drawings, but that's what Littman is trying to get at - what is drawing? His mission at The Drawing Center is to keep moving the argument forward; to challenge our preconceived notions of what drawing is. In addition to that aim, Littman's lecture strove to illustrate that drawing is most importantly not secondary to painting, like so many people believe and as the market certainly conveys - shown in the price difference between artists' drawings and paintings (paintings are always priced higher and, as such, are valued and sought out more so than works on paper). Well, Littman certainly achieved both of these aims and sneakily, yet smoothly, convinced his audience that our traditional understanding of drawing no longer applies. Whether it be before, after or throughout the creative process - and whether artist's are aware of their relationship to drawing or not - drawing is the foundational tool that allows artists to discover and investigate painting on a conceptual level. And, although Littman did not speak directly about Clyfford Still's work, this is the perfect conversation to be having going into the museum's Drawing/Painting/Process exhibit, as almost no one has seen Still's drawings prior to the museum's opening... and there are nearly 2,000 of them. Below, an example of what visitors will see in the show's unification of Still's works on paper with those on canvas.

To conclude, not only is this discussion important to the Clyfford Still Museum's new exhibition, but the question of what drawing is will become evermore important as the tools of technology continue taking the artist's hand out of the process. Technology is an incredible tool at artist's fingertip's today, but in an increasingly digital 21st century, this will undoubtedly cause some controversy. Will the foundational tool of drawing cease to be? My answer is no. As Brett Littman and his work at The Drawing Center demonstrates, the presence of drawing in the artist's process will not vanish. This versatile medium has shown that it can ebb and flow, and artists will continue to surprise us as to how it is executed and explored. How will the developing motion-based and audiovisual artists, the digital draftsmen and direct filmmakers employ drawing? Time will tell, and no doubt The Drawing Center will help shed some light on the conversation.