Spectral Analysis
LAUNCH Gallery / Launch LA
February 25 - March 18, 2023
Featuring: Kate Carvellas, Dellis Frank, Jynx Prado
Curated by Jason Jenn
The full gamut of visible wavelengths is on display at Launch Gallery in Spectral Analysis, a three-person exhibition curated by Jason Jenn, featuring vivid assemblages and sculptures by Kate Carvellas, Dellis Frank, and Jynx Prado. The show's title plays with the scientific term, which is a calculation of waves and data, often involving three Cartesian spatial coordinates (X,Y, & Z), which in the case of the exhibition are creatively redefined by the three artists who each employ bold and delightful approaches to color using varied materials.
Symbolism, social commentary, complex emotions, explorations of identity, and environmental concerns are sensitively constructed into the pieces. Insightful conversations arise from material repurposing and construction methods from the use of found objects, repurposed wood, fiber, and industrial packaging. The combination of works enchants the human eye with a broad spectrum of possibilities. The visionary results are a resplendent tribute to color’s ability to recalibrate our frame of mind and emotions through the talent and guiding hand of the artist.
Kate Carvellas utilizes visual arts to express herself in ways that words cannot, mining the depths of emotional territory. Since 2007 she has focused on three-dimensional artworks using objects collected from thrift stores, yard sales, and flea markets or discovered during regular neighborhood walks. Wood, plaster gauze, cardboard and/or repurposed styrofoam also often make their way into her sculptures. New meaning arises between materials and objects that otherwise would not be connected in the everyday world. The process allows Carvellas to "talk about" her conflicts, confusions, and insights, providing the opportunity to "re-construct" and redeem her personal narrative.
Dellis Frank creates work centered around social justice issues and the disparities in communities of color utilizing an environmental slant. Repurposing items that were headed for the landfill is the foundation of her practice. She has coined the phrase The Greening of Fine Art to capture the essence of her practice and Vibrational Cooking to describe her intuitive approach when conceptualizing and constructing her work. She paints with fibers, starting with a particular color family and wrapping different items of varying shapes to construct her assemblages. It is evident how important symbolism and color is to her as she pushes the observer to look into themselves and explore their desires, biases, and life experiences.
Jynx Prado critiques, questions, and challenges the natural and artificial subjects within cultures, nature, and human existence, as well as the coexistence of them through an interdisciplinary practice with found objects, fabrics, and their body. Using humor, irony and iconography Prado describes their environment and social life as a queer Mexi-Salvi American. Their practice frequently uses burlap, a safe and sustainable natural crop derived from the ordinary jute plant (corchorus olitorius). Burlap fabric is a rough, loose, and yet naturally strong fabric; a material used as a broader metaphor of the cycle of life and death through the natural and artificial. This literal and metaphorical transformation is most prevalent in Prado’s Embodiments series, which consist of various fibrous bodies (humanoid, animalistic, and/or abstracted forms) each singularly and collectively operating as surrogates for the experience of a queer, gender fluid individual.
LAUNCH LA believes exposure to the arts enhances quality of life and strengthens community for all through the shared appreciation of creative expression in all its forms and hybrids. LAUNCH LA is passionate about providing all artists regardless of race, color, creed or sexual orientation with quality opportunities to present themselves and their creations that reflect our times to a curious and enthusiastic audience at important happenings throughout Los Angeles.