Palo Alto | Marie Cameron Studio

Fur, Feathers & Fins is currently showing at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, California, where I have three of my Birds & Teacup paintings. Juried by DeWitt Cheng, curator, critic and teacher, this exhibition explores a variety of approaches to depicting animals and our relationships to them from the purely representation evocations of them in their natural habitat to the utilitarian, metaphorical, symbolic, playful and even removed. I can’t help but think about this subject matter in terms of the Anthropocene, how do we look at animals now that most of their worlds are impacted if not threatened by ours. Is the new wild, one of suburban back yards, zoos and laboratories? Something I think about anyway – Elizabeth Kolbert’s, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History is a great book on this subject! This show wraps up March 30, here are a few pictures from the opening reception, with links to artist’s websites, if available, when you click on their names.

Devan John, Gallery Manager of PAL announcing the awards.

First place went to Janey Fritsche for her oil on cradled panel, Sea Shepherds.

Second Place was awarded to Ellen Kramer for her photograph Discarded.

Third Place was given to Maura Carta‘s oil on panel, Nose-less Bunny.

Honorable Mention for Ann Sismore’s photograph God’s Got Your Back.

A second Honorable Mention for Bob Carlin‘s digital print under resin, Blue Footed Boobie .

A third Honorable Mention was awarded to Beka Brayer for her one of her Waiting for Wings mixed media assemblage pieces, details shown here.

Me with three of my Birds & Teacup paintings, Tea II, Petunia Tea I and Anemone Tea I.

Kathy Kleinsteiber and her acrylic portraits of animals.

May Shei – Joyful Moment – Watercolor on Rice Paper

(detail)

Judy Kramer, Insect Photography – Fur Feathers and Fins

Linda Maki – Fish on Lahina Wharf – Oil on Canvas

Leah (Jay) Jakusovszky – Amphibian Illustrations

Oleg Lobykin‘s Sea Foam sculpture and a crow painting by Janey Fritsche.

Detail from Peter Koronakos‘s assemblage Penguin.

Jihoon Choi with his painted steel Pink Rhino and Yellow Giraffe.

I was delighted to become familiar with Jihoon Choi and his fantastic work!

To hear the Artist Talk he gave click on this link for the video I shot: Jihoon Choi – Artist Talk

Jihoon Choi photographs of his scupltures in Bay Area locations.

PAPER: burned, cut, folded and stitched is a beautiful exhibition currently on at Bryant Street Gallery in Palo Alto, until April 30. Curated by artist Tracey Adams the exhibition features her own work alongside that by Jenene Nagy, Karen Margolis, Michael Buscemi and Cecil Touchon, artists with very different approaches to working with paper but who all share a great sensitivity to their material and technique – the results are sublime!

Bryant Street Gallery

Reception

Holly Van Hart with Tracey Adams.

Tracey Adams – Folded August 24 2014 – pigmented beeswax and silk thread on kitakata.

Tracey Adams – Folded July 29, 2014 – pigmented beeswax and silk thread on kitakata.

Tracey Adams showing an unframed Folded work to artists Howard Hersh and Lorraine Lawson.

It was such a pleasure meeting Tracey Adams – I loved hearing how she dips her large sheets of Japanese paper into hot vats of pigmented wax, creating vertical accordion and box pleat folds the pricking the holes to hand stitch with silk thread in delicate curvilinear trails that fasten the folds in place.

Jenene Nagy – Older Than the Host 5 – graphite on folded paper.

Jenene Nagy – Older Than the Host 3 – graphite on folded paper.

Jenene Nagy’s folded paper graphite are subtle and gorgeous. Their burnished silver surface reminds me of tintypes and steely oceans and the folds feel like a pieced quilt.

Karen Margolis – Mazarine – watercolor, gouache, thread, map fragements on abaca.

Karen Margolis – Blush – watercolor, gouache, thread, map fragments on abaca.

Karen Margolis – watercolor, gouache, thread, map fragments on abaca (detail).

Karen Margolis’s pieces have a delicate organic feeling evoking thoughts of cell structure and insect activity. I’m coveting Blush – the way the light pink transitions from light blue to overlapping the black and grey it felt like a bloom of mold, so delicate!

Cecil Touchon – Fusion Series # 3553 – Collage on Paper

Fergus in front of Cecil Touchon’s sophisticated collages made from reassembled paintings some with fragments of text.

Michael Buscemi with his assistant, Giorgi Azarashvili.

Michael Buscemi describing what went into Victory – collage, ink wash on paper.

Spring (detail).

Michael Buscemi’s cut paper constructions are weightless and airy and feathery, Spring is a departure from his earlier all white pieces introducing hint of color which has a gentle cast in the work.