Artist Spotlight: Elyse Wyman - Signs of the Times

Elyse Wyman, Fire In the Belly, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Elyse Wyman’s new body of work continues her exploration of the interrelationships and dynamics of female identity, self-perception, personal worth, sexuality and power. Through the medium of transparent bas-relief sculpture, she presents the female torso as both physical and psychological container, fusing separate entities to reveal things we often take for granted. Her ongoing scrutiny of the female figure intersects squarely with the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

Elyse Wyman, Stop Abuse, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Seemingly ordinary road and warning signs such as “Stop” or “Rough Road” take on new meaning when placed inside the female form. This juncture of disparate elements leads to new interpretations. Wyman’s mixed-media sculptures illuminate a deeper, generally hidden emotional intensity often alluding to harassment both visible and unseen.

Elyse Wyman, Rough Road, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Elyse Wyman was born in Los Angeles and received her BA in Fine Arts (Cum Laude) from UCLA. She furthered her art education in Paris, France at the Academie de La Grande Chaumiere. Ms. Wyman has pursued parallel careers in both fine arts and graphic design. As a graphic artist for A&M records she designed albums, posters, music books, advertising and billboards. Currently, as art director and owner of DesignWorks, Unlimited Graphic Design Studio, her clients have included A&M Records, American Ballet Theatre, American Film Institute, ASCAP, Chevron, Disc Marketing, General Mills, UCLA, United Airlines, Toyota, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Brothers, Women in Film, and many others.

Elyse Wyman, Stop Abuse, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

The exhibition runs through October 20.
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 6, 5-8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, October 13, 3pm

Current Exhibition: Cheryl Dimont, Sunhee Joo, Marion Wood, Elyse Wyman

September 25 - October 20, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 6, 5-8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, October 13, 3pm

Cheryl Dimont -- Looking Closer

Cheryl Dimont, The Quilt, Archieval pigment print

Sunhee Joo -- Message of Love

Sunhee Joo, The Kite Flyer, Digital painting, 9 x 9"

Marion Wood -- Field Notes

Marion Wood, Grounded, Acrylic, 48 x 30"

Elyse Wyman -- Signs of the Times

Elyse Wyman, Choice, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Artist Spotlight: Elyse Wyman's Positive From Negative

Elyse Wyman, Kick, Cast Aluminum, 41 x 32 x .5"

In art as in life, a slight shift in perspective can transform negative into positive. While creating the positive shapes for the sculptures in her previous show, Elyse Wyman noticed the remaining negative shapes were intriguing in their own right and reserved them for future inspiration. In the spirit of recycle, reuse, renew, those raw pieces evolved into new sculptures, retaining some of the shapes and characteristics from the previous artwork, but emerging as something distinctly novel in her new show, Positive from Negative.

Elyse Wyman, Evolutionary Venture - 2S Recycle, Cast Aluminum, 9 x 8 x 5.5"

Wyman utilized the negative shapes born from earlier sculptures of the female torso to create positive sculptural forms cut and carved from Styrofoam. She then buried them in sand and cast them in aluminum. As she dug the sculptures from the hot sand, she noticed that an unforeseen surface pattern had spontaneously emerged from the path of the molten metal. 

Elyse Wyman, Winged Defeat, Cast Aluminum, 9 x 6 x 5"

Intrigued with the reticulated patterning, she ventured further, making pencil and wax rubbings on paper and employing gold leaf to further reveal and enhance the shapes and patterns. With this exhibition, the negative has transformed into positive.

Elyse Wyman, Undulation, Gold leaf on paper, 45.5 x 35"

August 29 – September 23, 2017

Artist Panel Discussion:
Saturday, September 23, 3pm

Current Exhibition: Kathy Curtis Cahill, Carole Garland, Diane Rudnick Mann, Elyse Wyman

August 29 – September 23, 2017 

Opening Reception:
Saturday, September 9th, 5 – 8pm

Artist Panel Discussion:
Saturday, September 23, 3pm

Kathy Curtis Cahill – Childhood Matters

Kathy Curtis Cahill, Playing House, Photograph, 24x27"

Carole Garland – I [Heart] DTLA

Carole Garland, Southwestern Bag Company, Oil on canvas, 30x40"

Diane Rudnick Mann – …Continued

Diane Rudnick Mann, Cherries, Pastel, 14x16"

Elyse Wyman – Positive From Negative

Elyse Wyman, Dance Circle, Gold leaf on paper, 41.5 x 53.5”

TAG Interviews Elyse Wyman

Sign Language is Elyse Wyman's current show at TAG on view through March 19, 2016.

Elyse Wyman, Woman's Work, Mixed media bas relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

We asked her a few questions:

Have you always lived in Southern California? 
Yes, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In fact, I am a fourth generation Californian. I did spend a year abroad in Paris, France as a college student. There I studied the great European art traditions as well as the more modern artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp and many others.

What historical art movement would you choose as identifying most with your work?
I am inspired by Joseph Cornell’s often dream-like shadow boxes, sometimes called “memory boxes” or “poetic theaters.” His work in turn was inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” or found objects from the Surrealist Dada art movement. Like Cornell, I am interested in the memories and feelings evoked by the items contained within the female shapes I have chosen as my “memory boxes." I layer the torsos with significant objects, paintings, and personal fragments, exposing the female figure to deeper scrutiny. I invite the viewer to peek into my private world, which is both revealed and concealed within these transparent forms.

What is the significance of plastic forms in your newest work? How do they contribute to the structure, the meaning?
The plastic forms come from the fashion industry. They are highly structured female shapes, most likely designed by men, and are conventionally used to display bathing suits. Their shapes are more akin to the unattainable figure of a Barbie doll than to the flesh and blood human form. In my artwork they function as structural containers for the assemblages inside them. They serve as both physical and psychological containers for the artwork within their confines. They display the female as both subject and object. These visual double entendres demonstrate how context can determine meaning and how meaning changes according to context.

Elyse Wyman, Yield/Allegorical Muse, Mixed media bas relief, 34 x 15 x 4"

What are the key themes that run through your work?
In this latest body of work I explore the dynamics and interrelationships of female identity, sexuality, gender and body stereotypes. I am attempting to illuminate the deeper emotional level generally hidden by the more carefully managed armor we show to the outside world.
I also fuse separate entities to reveal things we often take for granted. Seemingly ordinary road and warning signs (such as “Yield,” “No Outlet” and “Keep Off The Grass”) take on new meaning when placed inside the female form. This intersection of disparate elements results in new, sometimes humorous interpretations.

Elyse Wyman, Keep Off the Grass, Mixed media bas relief, 29 x 15 x 4"

How do you like people to view your work—from across the room, or close up?
If I were viewing my show for the first time I would stand back at first to take in the span of the colorful bas-relief figures hanging on the wall from coat hangers. Then, I’d definitely come in for a closer look at each piece as there are many interesting details to discover in each of them. For instance, “Empty Nest” contains an actual Hummingbird nest and a gold leafed leaf. “Exposed Heart” features a rare piece of red seaweed as its core. “The Grass Is Always Greener” and “Keep Off The Grass” both feature strategically placed fake grass.

Elyse Wyman, Installation View

Elyse Wyman, Empty Nest, Mixed media bas relief, 34 x 15 x 4"

Elyse will be part of an Artist Panel at TAG this Saturday, March 12, 3pm.
Feel free to leave her any questions here in the comments.

Coming Exhibition: Go Woon Choi, Michael Knight, Elyse Wyman

February 23 – March 19th, 2016 

Opening Reception: 
Saturday, February 27,  5 – 8pm 

Artist Panel Discussion: 
Saturday, March 12, 2pm 

Go Woon Choi  
Everyday Life 

Go Woon Choi, Red Prop Composition 04, Oil, 30 x 24"

Go Woon Choi’s recent body of work is a unique exploration of everyday objects. Her interest in common objects is rooted in her idea that “even common objects can appear strange and fantastic under different light conditions and environments”. Transforming ordinary objects into extraordinary visual experiences, Choi concentrates on the reflection of light and silhouettes of her imagery. Buttons, clips, toys and metal objects in her paintings are depicted in close-up views and compositions that give the objects a new life.

Honing in on minute details, each object is substantially represented while the various, objects are combined into one surreal construction; building a hybrid form of semi-abstraction. The monochromatic colors in the background stresses the silhouette of the whole image, whereas the imagery itself continues to develop beyond the canvas. Subsequently, the changing light on the surface give an impression as if the form is in motion.

“Artists reinterpret the subject of art by imbuing artistic recreation in different elements of our daily life. Our interpretation was not a concept learned in school, but what our eyes have seen and our senses have felt.”

Michael Knight
Superstitious

Michael Knight, On Tilt, Scratchboard, 11 x 14"

In his latest body of work, Michael Knight explores the ideas behind our superstitions, myths, and beliefs. Reacting to the world around us in irrational ways seems an easy thing to do. Frightened by that which is unknown and mysterious, we establish belief systems, customs and notions meant to help us cope with and control that which we do not understand; circumstances which we wish to influence.

From our lucky shirts and magic numbers to the avoidance of ladders and black cats we establish rites and rituals to protect us. From whim to obsession, from the scratching of lines on the stone walls of Lascaux to the etched marks depicting the talismans and traditions collected in this exhibit, we hedge our bets seeking safety and good fortune. Meanwhile the laws of nature reveal most of this to be non-sense and fate and chance exert their strong grasp as we struggle to avoid bad luck.

Elyse Wyman 
Sign Language

Elyse Wyman, No Outlet, Mixed media bas relief, 34 x 15 x 4"

In No Outlet, Elyse Wyman explores the dynamics and interrelationships of female identity, sexuality, gender stereotypes, and self-worth. Wyman’s sculptures illuminate a deeper emotional level generally hidden by the more carefully managed armor we display to the outer world. The transparent forms in her work reveal the female torso as both physical and psychological containers, as well as allegorical muse.

Throughout this new work Wyman fuses separate entities to reveal things we often take for granted. Seemingly ordinary road and warning signs take on new meaning when placed inside the female form. This intersection of disparate elements results in new, sometimes impishly humorous interpretations. Layered with significant objects, paintings, and personal fragments, the torsos expose the female figure to deeper scrutiny, functioning as both object and subject. These visual double entendres demonstrate how context can determine meaning and how meaning changes according to context.

Walk the Shows: Andrea Rubin Kichaven, Camey McGilvray, and Elyse Wyman

Enjoy this virtual tour of the current shows at TAG:

TAG Show #7 2015 from TAG Gallery on Vimeo. 

Have a question for Andrea, Camey, or Elyse? 

Leave it below in the comments and we'll ask them at the Artists' Talk on Saturday, June 28 3pm. 

Hope to see you there! 

Spotlight On: Elyse Wyman

Elyse Wyman, I'llGetForget, Encaustic, 24 x 18"

Veil of Fog

These Encaustic paintings are a visual (as well as visceral) response to the free verse poetry my mother expressed in the final years preceding her death from Alzheimer’s Disease. As she was in excellent physical condition, she survived (for better or worse) for many years after she started exhibiting signs of cognitive impairment. My mother and her sister were beautiful dancers and actresses in movie musicals as well as on stage. They were loving sisters who married best friends, built houses next door to each other, and raised their children in a lively communal atmosphere. My mother was very intelligent, well-spoken, outgoing and amazingly kind.

Elyse Wyman, Right to Almost, Encaustic mixed media, 8 x 8"

I believe my mother’s words and thoughts provide some insight into her struggle to communicate despite the unraveling of her brain. I continue to discover in them a wide range of feelings; anger, fear, humor, impatience, love and other emotions she could no longer express in a conventional manner. These paintings are a direct unfiltered response to each individual poem. I began by writing my mother’s poem on the blank surface of the canvas. I then applied layers of encaustic paint over the words, often scraping back into the layers to allow some of the poem to emerge. Sometimes the entire surface ended up covered with paint and only faint references to the written word are visible. 

Elyse Wyman, Pitcher In My Fate, Encaustic, 12 x 10"

This direct painted response was analogous to the way my mother was relating to the world at that time. The paintings are emotional responses to a difficult time in both our lives. They reflect elements of both the child and the mother and the reversal of roles as we grow older. The plaques and tangles of the disease were like layers of webs and veils obscuring her ability to think clearly. She referred to this as living in a “veil of fog.” She didn’t remember the immediate past, and had no concept of the future, and therefore seemed to exist entirely in the present. I tried to make my paintings reflect that. It was liberating to allow the paint to flow in an immediate response to her words, creating a direct dialogue with not only the poem, but with each painting in progress.

Elyse Wyman, Just to Listen, Encaustic, 24 x 18"

On June 19th 7-9pm, TAG is hosting a benefit for the Southern California Alzheimer’s Association Event “The Longest Day" at the gallery. There will be a poetry reading by Maray Ayres and Ann Ryerson Hall, and Ellen Woo PhD, Director of Neuropsychology and Co-Assistant Director for the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research at UCLA will discuss the poetry of Elyse's mother as it relates to the disease. Wine and cheese will be served.

RSVP: EWLongestDay@gmail.com
$20 donation at the door 

Visit Elyse's fundraising page for "The Longest Day" here.

Coming Exhibition: Andrea Rubin Kichaven, Camey McGilvray, and Elyse Wyman

Tues June 16th – Sat July 11th, 2015

Reception: Sat  June 20, 5-8 p.m.
Artist Talk: Sat  June 27, 3 p.m.

Andrea Rubin Kichaven

Transitions

 Andrea Rubin Kichaven, Falling Away, Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 30 in.

Andrea Rubin Kichaven’s latest body of work is a compelling visual and metaphoric exploration of the disintegration of her long marriage.

The inspiration for this exhibition is the process of self-reflection. Through the visual narrative, she boldly portrays and expresses each step with clarity and strength.. Canvas by canvas, she takes us toward her new identity as a single woman. Even the mundane task of purchasing a new car is vividly represented on a yellow brick road. According to Kichaven, art and life are linked together by experience and inspiration. This process has turned the negative into a positive. 

By painting about these most recent life experiences, the artist has brought herself a degree of peace as she begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel as well as a renewal of life, and a new chapter beginning. Through the detailed painting of each canvas, Kichaven has found new growth and a new voice as an artist.

Camey McGilvray

Women in Wood and Metal

 Camey McGilvray, Ipanema, Acrylic, wood, wire, 33 x 18 x 8"

Women in Wood and Metal celebrates the strength and beauty of women.

The female figure is used as the starting point for all of the pieces. However, a strictly naturalistic depiction is abandoned and the female subjects are abstracted to essential elements for the final version. The style is contemporary, with a touch of Art Deco.

All of these artworks are assemblages and the components are specifically created or selected to advance the narrative of each piece. Some of the component pieces are created from scratch from sheets of aluminum or plywood. Others are selected from McGilvray’s large treasury of found objects and recycled into new creations.

McGilvray’s sculptures of women range from unadorned nudes to elaborately dressed brides and depict women caught in a moment of beauty. All of the pieces for this exhibit have been created over the past 10 years, from 2005 to 2015, and are a retrospective of McGilvray’s artistic development.

Elyse Wynman

Veil of Fog

Elyse Wyman, Beautiful Centers, Encaustic, 8 x 8 in.

Elyse Wyman’s new exhibition, Veil of Fog, is a collection of encaustic paintings that is a visual (as well as visceral) response to the poetry her mother “composed” in the final years preceding her death from Alzheimer’s disease. Her mother’s words convey emotions such as love, anger, fear and humor, and provide insight into her struggle to communicate despite the unraveling of her brain.

These paintings are a direct, unfiltered response to each individual poem. Wyman began by writing her mother's poem on the blank surface of the canvas. She then applied layers of encaustic paint over the words, often scraping back into the layers to allow some of the poem to emerge. Sometimes the entire surface ended up covered with paint and only faint references to the written word are visible. This direct painted response was analogous to the way her mother related to the world at that time. The plaques and tangles of the disease were like layers of webs and veils obscuring her mother’s ability to think clearly.

Wyman’s mother referred to this condition as living in a “veil of fog.” She didn’t remember the immediate past, and had no concept of the future, and therefore seemed to exist entirely in the present. Wyman’s objective was to make paintings that reflect this condition. According to the artist, “It was liberating to allow the paint to flow in an immediate response to her (mother’s) words, creating a direct dialogue with not only the poem, but with each painting in progress.”

Coming Exhibition: Carole Garland, Suki Kuss, Elyse Wyman

Tuesday, July 15 - Saturday, August 9, 2014

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 19, 5-8 p.m.

Artist Talk: Saturday, August 2, 3 p.m

Santa Monica Pier: Night and Day, Carole Garland

Carole Garland,  Ferris, Oil on Canvas , 48x36in

In her latest show, Carole Garland focuses on the variability of the Santa Monica Pier as a spectrum of illumination throughout the day and into the night. Garland plays with natural and artificial light and shadows falling on the beach, pier and water and explores the familiar architecture in close-up and from afar. She shifts from previous work which focused on the chaos of the metropolitan city, to the haunting qualities of the pier’s urban architecture. She captures the nostalgic quality of the iconic structures, the ferris wheel, the carousel, and the roller coaster, rather than the tourists who visit the pier. Atmosphere, mood, and the changing times of day continue to be a signature of her work.

Small Offerings, Suki Kuss

Suki Kuss, Cloud Cover I, Mixed Media Collage, 20x20in

Suki Kuss embarks on a personal journey in her latest exhibition, Small Offerings. Putting aside her previously used vintage materials such as lace, patterns, sheet music and reflective surfaces, Kuss limits herself to only immediately accessible and basic materials in her studio. What unfolded in this delicate and patient quest was a deeply cathartic and cleansing experience. Reminiscent of her past aesthetic, Kuss achieves a complex, multi-layered balance through talent and patience in skilled penwork. Jean-Jacques Rousseau once wrote, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” Speaking to her fruitful process, Kuss divulges, “ I found myself slowly developing smaller and smaller pieces. The work has become very meditative and absorbing… I find myself engaged with the individual pieces for days on end”. Unifying these compositions are restrictions in color palette and the incorporation of her own symbolic visual vocabulary that she has developed over the years. Distinctive to Kuss’ work is her continued mastery of combining and translating textures into visceral and ethereal atmospheres.

Light of Day, Elyse Wyman

Elyse Wyman, The Summit, Mixed Media, 36x36in

In her latest series, Elyse Wyman combines painting and photography to explore the crepuscular transition of day to night. These mixed media works showcase the ephemeral nature of the cyclical rhythms of the earth, as light is filtered through a haze of clouds, mist and pollution in and around the Los Angeles area. Wyman begins with photos printed on clear film which she then partially dissolves with solvents to abstract and soften them. She then layers the photo over an acrylic painting to create gradients of color and depth beneath the dripping emulsion of a wet sky. Referencing the ever-changing currents aloft, Wyman shares that, "The ethereal effects of light falling on this planet from above have always been of compelling interest to me." This melding of media seeks to capture time, keeping a brief moment alive while also tracing its demise. As she sees it, each day comes into being and over time passes away, but not before exploding in a final unique outburst.