Metamorphosis: A Meditative Exploration of Space, Material, and Process
Manhattan Beach Art Center, Manhattan Beach, CA
January 20 - April 2, 2023
This exhibition features 5 Southern California artists who are committed to experimentation in their work. Inspired by materials and processes, the women in this exhibition have each developed a unique mode of working, transforming materials into original works of art. Much of the art made prior to the modern art movement did not place emphasis on the materials themselves, but rather on the image they made up. However, many contemporary artists have begun to focus on materials and process as the catalyst to express ideas. The gathering, sorting, associating, patterning, and grappling with material becomes a meditative process, leading the artist to new discoveries in their artistic practices.
Diana Flynn describes her signature process of assembling fabric work: “a laborious process of intuition, destruction, contemplation, resolve, refinement, and acceptance.”
Janice Schultz: “I love to experiment and push materials and ideas. I spend hours at the hardware store looking at building materials and wondering how I can incorporate them into my art making. In my paintings, I try to interpret or respond to an idea or an emotion, but most of all I try to make something beautiful.”
Celina Amaya: “My techniques involve process painting and collage printmaking. I recall the landscapes from bits of memory and physically work in large fragments—from woodcuts, monotypes, and sheets of acrylic or oil wash—which I cut and piece together to make the final reconstructed collage.”
Sabrina Armitage: “My preferred medium is encaustics – pigmented beeswax and resin – as it is dimensional, tactile, and forgiving. In working with encaustic wax there is a component of control over the medium and a component of allowing the wax to have its own flow. A balance exists between having an intention, a plan, and shifting with the wax toward an unexpected outcome. This echoes the beautiful, rich struggle of being alive.”
Lauren Arens: “I use pigments from rocks and ash that I found in Ojai. Using these natural materials allows me to feel more connected to the subject matter by physically implementing pieces of it into my work, as well as vary the textures in subtle ways. This aspect of my process allows me to better connect thoughts and abstractions with something that is concrete and physical.”
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