Current Exhibition: Anne M Bray, Diane Rudnick Mann, Joan Wynn

November 22 – December 17, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 3,  5-8pm

Artist Panel: Saturday, December 10, 3pm

Anne M Bray – Fashion Rainbow

Anne M Bray, Lupita, Digital print on paper, 21 x 17"

Diane Rudnick Mann - Waiting

Diane Rudnick Mann, Waiting, Pastel, 45 x 34"

Joan Wynn - Reflections

Joan Wynn, Guarding and Receiving, Liquid amber pods, satin steel, 13 x 7 x 6"

Artist Spotlight: Elizabeth Szymczak's "Transition"

Elizabeth Szymczak, Letting Go, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

TAG Gallery presents Transition, a collection of oil paintings on canvas by Elizabeth Szymczak that explore surrealistic figural compositions full of emotional narrative.

Elizabeth Szymczak, Mercy, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

The art of dance has always been an inspiration for Szymczak, it’s influence bleeding over into this body of work and inspiring many of her figural compositions. The artist uses images from past performances and choreography for referential material by re-staging scenes her studio with models. Using this method as a starting point, Szymczak pushes further, integrating her own unique imagery into the painting, transforming the work from something representational into the realm of personal fantasy. Szymczak explores this notion visually as well, utilizing butterflies to symbolize transformation, or doves as visual signifiers of peace. 

Elizabeth Szymczak, Transition, Oil on canvas, 40 x 40"

The content of this collection goes beyond the athleticism and appreciation of dance. Szymczak uses figures to convey vague emotional narratives that the viewer can connect to. The subject matter comes from personal experiences where the artist has had to overcome a personal struggle or trial, something common of the human experience. 

Elizabeth Szymczak, Avoidance, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

According to Szymczak, the human experience is not black and white and is contains many grey areas. As such, Transition also delves into the concept of duality. Using light and dark paints to show contrast, Szymczak’s canvases detail scenes of internal struggle as all human beings battle with the balance of dark and light in their own lives. This exhibition offers us a chance to take a moment for self-reflection in a busy world where we often forget to take in the larger picture.

Elizabeth Szymczak, Pathways, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

Artist Spotlight: Carol Kleinman's "The Secret Life of Windows"

Carol Kleinman, New York, New York, Single exposure on canvas, 24 x 36"

TAG Gallery is proud to present The Secret Life of Windows, an exhibition of new photographs of reflections on windows by Carol Kleinman. The reflections, captured in Paris, Amsterdam and New York, are printed on canvas, blurring the line between photography and painting.

Carol Kleinman, Sunglasses on the Seine, Single exposure on canvas, 20 x 25"

In the tradition of many great French photographers, she is an “flâneuse” (stroller). She will walk for hours and not take a single photograph. Kleinman feels she’s on a visual treasure hunt. “I’ll spot a complex reflection on a window, get captivated, and start capturing images. Reflections seduce me by their interplay of fantasy and reality, the symphony of layer upon layer of life... all of it merging and culminating in the very personal moment when I click the shutter of my camera!”

Carol Kleinman, Dreaming of Summer, Amsterdam, Single exposure on canvas, 22 x 22"

A great deal of the impact of Kleinman’s work stems from the fact that the images actually existed at a specific time and place; they are not creations or manipulations. Kleinman says that were she to “Photoshop” and combine images, that impact would be lost. What you see is what she saw. Her work reveals the tension between abstraction and reality and creates a launching pad from which the viewer can go on a journey and explore deeper personal emotions.

Carol Kleinman, Paris Pages #2, Single exposure on canvas, 22 x 22"

Meet Carol and the other exhibiting artists at TAG this Saturday, Nov 12, 3 pm

Artist Spotlight: Katie Crown's "Audiences"

Katie Crown, Silent Majority, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48"

TAG Gallery’s exhibition of paintings and drawings by Katie Crown comes just in time for the election countdown. Crown has been experimenting with the theme of audiences – of individuals engulfed within a group. Crowds in her colorful paintings and in her black-and-white drawings return the art viewer’s gaze. These are works of the people and for the people, but also commentary about alienation. As Crown worked on audience paintings recently, she contemplated the categorizing of voters who will decide in November about our future. “People get labeled by group,” she noted, “What does an ‘undecided’ person look like, anyway? What about a group of them?”

Katie Crown, Undecided, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48"

Everyone has been part of audiences. Viewing Crown’s audiences brings that shared experience to mind. Being part of an audience seems to give people carte blanche to behave any way they choose. At the gallery, though, there’s no need to silence your cell phone and refrain from talking. 

Katie Crown, Respect Their Elders, Pencil and Charcoal, 46 x 32"

Is the individual diminished by becoming subsumed in a group or strengthened by unity with others? Crown’s work explores this visually with the challenge of creating exciting compositions built on faces and clothes of various people in her audiences. Her focus on audiences previously took the form of ceramic sculptures and then film-noir inspired black-and-white paintings. Her current show dazzles with colorful individual fashion choices trellised onto the gridded structure of heads in rows. Crown says, “I love working with patterns,” and the joy of that beams through the tight-knit compositions.

Katie Crown, Standing Room Only, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48"

Katie's work will be on view at TAG through November 19.
Gallery events include:
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 5, 5-8pm
Meet the Artist: Saturday, Nov 12, 3 pm