Coming Exhibition: Linda Sue Price, Joan Ransohoff, Joan Vaupen

May 20 - June 14 2014

Opening Reception: 

Saturday, May 24, 5-8 p.m.

Artist Talk: 

Saturday, June 10, 3-4 p.m.

Garden of Virtue, Linda Sue Price

Linda Sue Price, Jesse, Neon Mixed Media, 23x23"

Neon mixed media artist Linda Sue Price’s current exhibition experiments with cast neon light and textures while exploring themes of virtue, mentorship, and the nurturing qualities of gardens. Working with washers, acrylic spheres, rods, and paint, Price manipulates different textures in contrast to the light medium. Using flower boxes as a structural base, Price strives to make her neon works more accessible to viewers. “Most of the neon tubing in my art is bent free form, which means there is no pattern. Shapes may be similar but each is unique,” says Price. “When starting a new series or project, I bend different shapes until I find one I want to explore or one that expresses something I have been thinking about.” While abstract in design, Price’s works make reference to individuals and current events that have made an impact in her life. Three “mentor” pieces - titled “Jesse,” “Cynthia,” and “Rose” - are dedicated to these individuals as a form of gratitude for their specific guidance. Other works make literal references to cultivation, as abstract soy beans and dragon tongue beans grow from flower boxes. Meanwhile “Consistency is Not a Virtue” playfully references political attitudes. Price’s work exhibits a technical mastery of vibrant neon tubing injected with thematic wit.

From the Garden, Joan Ransohoff

Joan Ransohoff, Meyer Lemons In a Garden Pot, Oil on Canvas, 30x24"

In Joan Ransohoff’s latest exhibition she transitions from plein air landscapes to reflect upon her artistic roots - natural studies. Beginning often from her own garden, Ransohoff’s oil on canvas paintings portray a spectrum of colors and textures. Elegant floral compositions feature magnolias, apple blossoms, and roses, juxtaposed against a delicate brandy glass or arranged in a Chinese vase. In another, luscious Meyer lemons still hang from leafy branches. “After years of plein air painting, still lives present a different and complex challenge - slowing down and taking the time to really see in a controlled setting,” says Ransohoff. “Sometimes something interesting happens when I’m painting that has nothing to do with the original set-up, and I always follow it, intuition is essential to me.” Ransohoff’s luminous work celebrates beauty in simplicity while paying homage to the impressionist masters.

New Work, Joan Vaupen

Joan Vaupen, Underworld, Mixed Media Monoprint, 19.5x20"

In her latest exhibition, Joan Vaupen continues to experiment with varied mixed media to create abstract monoprints. Mixing acrylic inks and water on slick yupo paper, Vaupen’s high-contrast, liquified compositions portray an ethereal quality. After completion, each painting is then photographed and printed as a single edition. While these optical images begin with a sketch, Vaupen notes that there are equally challenging and spontaneous elements to her process. “They look otherworldly, yet things of the earth pop up,” says Vaupen. “Even though my work is abstract, there is a sense of the familiar.” Cool-colored, amorphous shapes emerge as pigments bubble and colors separate to create organic landscapes that recall the night sky or the depths of the sea, all beckoning viewers to step closer.

Emotional Transcendence: Shelley Adler, Shelley Lazarus, Joan Vaupen

May 22 - June 16, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 26, 2012  5-8 PM
Conversation with the Artists: Saturday, June 9, 2012, 3 pm

Shelley Adler, Dread
 In her new series of paintings, Shelley Adler tackles the emotional and psychological issues associated with the word “Dread.” She acknowledges a shift in societal values that has altered the mood and tone of her own art and life. Politics, social order, and psychological insight have ultimately informed her oil on gessoboard portraits. Adler’s subjects draw parallels to those of Dorothea Lange’s Depression-era portraits, expressing the ‘Dread’ experienced by the average American in moments of uncertainty and chaos.


Shelley Lazarus, Moments
 Shelley Lazarus’s new show captures intimate glimpses of personal and sentimental moments in her life. Painted not only with her signature watercolor technique, but also in acrylics, graphites and crayons, Lazarus’s work combines saturated hues with expressive brushstrokes. Her landscapes depict urban New York street scenes, Ventura’s orchards and seaside, and the vineyards of the Rhineland which are reminiscent of Cezanne’s watercolor landscapes. Through her paintings, Lazarus reminds us of those moments that we often take for granted.

Joan Vaupen, A New Reality
 Joan Vaupen’s abstract and vibrant works experiment with the evolution of time, form, and color in various media. The mysterious and nebulous forms which fill the frame of Vaupen’s monoprints on archival paper ebb and flow into one another, transitioning in color and shape. Vaupen translates Salvador Dalí’s Face of Mae West As a Room, which was built by Dali, into her own interpretation as a mixed media collage. Her transposition of the past breathes new life into previous Surrealist works, evoking a sense of renewal and regeneration.

Hyper-America: Cookies, Wires & Landscapes New Exhibit at TAG Gallery November 29 - December 24, 2011

Featuring John Clendening, Cameey McGilvray, Joan Vaupen

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 3, 2011, 5-8 PM

John Clendening, The Lake at Sundown, 2011, oil on panel, 24 x 18 in.

American Landscapes
John Clendening
Combining still life images with landscapes in a form he calls the “Stillscape”, artist John Clendening forges a connection between the traditions of American landscape painting and those of European still life. As the former Smithsonian Chief of Design, Clendening has an intrinsic relationship with American art and history. His current show, American Landscapes, surveys American national parks, including Zion, Joshua Tree, Snow Canyon, and Indian Canyon. He reveals how the natural world can inspire on any scale, bringing the majestic together with the commonplace, juxtaposing monumental natural imagery with traditional still-life imagery. From stunning mountain peaks to crates of apples on a desk, John Clendening’s work emphasizes how the smallest detail is ultimately just as important as the large whole.

Camey McGilvray, Haywire 2011 Acrylic, wire and wood 36 x 26 x 6 in

WIred, Camey McGilvray

In WIRED, Sculptor Camey McGilvray challenges the multi-faceted, scattered, high-speed nature of contemporary culture. Using wires and wood in her kinetic constructions, McGilvray shows that twenty-four hour access to information is the blessing and curse of our time. A constant stream of communication may allow us to do more, send more, and process more, but ultimately, will expect more of us in return. While being wired informs our personal energy, it also limits the depth of our connections. By capturing individual slices of life in hyperdrive, McGilvray’s sculptures force us to realize that despite the benefits, digital communication is no substitute for the quality of an unedited, face-to-face interaction. While more words reach, fewer touch.

Joan Vaupen, Red Fortune Cookie, 2011, Plexiglass and mixed media, 12 x 12 x 6 in.

Fortune, Joan Vaupen

Fortune Cookies. Plexiglass. What do they have in common? Mixed-media artist Joan Vaupen revels in the two, in her new exhibit, Fortune at TAG Gallery. Vaupen brings the kitschy cookie into the realm of 21st century art - molding the the soft plastic of plexiglas into the hardened, sensual shapes of that frustrating, sweet paradox: the fortune cookie. We want to eat it, but we don’t want to eat it. We want to open it, and we want to keep it closed. The circuitous forms of Vaupen’s plexiglas cookies simultaneously hide and reveal, are feminine yet hard. Larger than life, they suspend themselves from the wall, requesting us to open them and discover the platitudes of life. Fortune forces us to recognize that even though the unknown shall always be unknown . . . it will always be enticing.

BEST OF TAG Group Exhibition Opens

TAG Gallery was filled with the sound of tape measures snapping and nails being hammered as artists were hard at work installing the BEST OF TAG annual group exhibition which opened on December 28.

First, gallery walls and sculpture pedestals are patched and repainted by TAG Gallery members on the Wall Prep crew led by Gary Polonsky. Polonsky, along with Pat Klowden and Anne Ramis, come in the gallery at the end of every show to make sure that the walls are pristine for the next group of artists to install their work. Even spouses pitch in to help, as was the case in preparing for this exhibition, when new TAG Gallery member Katie Crown brought her husband Guy Webster to help.



“People do not realize that there is a lot of work that goes into getting ready for a show,” says former TAG Gallery president Ellen Starr. “Hanging a big show such as this often takes a lot of people and a couple of days. Sometimes the trickiest part is evaluating where each of the art pieces should be displayed. When we layout the show, we have to consider not only size, but also medium, subject matter, color, and framing. Then, the artwork and walls are measured to be equally spaced and centered on a point close to 60 inches from the floor. A poorly hung show can reflect poorly on the art and exhibition space.”



In addition to the Wall Prep crew, Starr was joined by co-presidents Carol Kleinman and Cheryl Medow, and members Della Rolle, Katherine Kean, Diane Rudnick Mann, Suki Kuss, Joan Vaupen, and Grace Swanson, in setting up the show.






The BEST OF TAG exhibition continues through January 22, 2011 and features a diverse mix of painting, photography, mixed media, printmaking, pastel, sculpture, and fiber art.

A reception to meet the artists will be held Saturday, January 8, from 3 to 6 pm and is open to the public.

New Works by Diane Rudnick Mann, Valerie Nielsen Mendez, Joan Vaupen April 27 - May 22, 2010

TAG Gallery is proud to present new works by Diane Rudnick Mann, Valerie Nielsen Mendez, Joan Vaupen.

April 27 - May 22, 2010

Artists' Reception Saturday May 8, 2010 5 - 8 pm

DIANE MANN

Pastelist Diane Rudnick Mann is showing meticulously rendered still life paintings at TAG Gallery at Bergamot Art Center.

Pencils, jellybeans, pimento-stuffed olives, and rusty old keys are among the unlikely items that have inspired Mann. "I like to paint everyday objects, something you would walk by and never notice," she explains. "As I paint them, they develop personalities and become something you do notice."

One of her secrets to dramatically rendering commonplace objects is to create high-contrast light and shadows. When Mann sets up a still life to be photographed she generally places black boards behind it, then turns off all the lights in the room except for a floor lamp aimed at the arrangement.

Sometimes the artist doesn't realize the potential of her subject matter until she starts photographing it. Take jelly beans, for instance. They caught her eye in the supermarket, so she brought a few bags home and arranged them in various dishes and jars. Only after she'd photographed and cropped the images did she realize that she had the beginnings of a new series and a new way to challenge the commonplace.

As an artist, Mann is a late starter. A class at UCLA titled Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, opened up a whole new world for her. "It was an overnight transition," she explains, "kind of a miracle." Regarding her choice of pastel, she said, "I love the richness, fullness, and depth of colors," she notes. "I also like the look - a look that oil and watercolor doesn't have. And I like using my hand to sculpt things." In addition to these qualities, Mann likes pastel for the control that it allows the artist.

Born in Massachusetts, Diane Rudnick Mann now lives in Los Angeles. She studied drawing at UCLA and at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, and has attended workshops with Doug Dawson, Sally Strand, and Gerald Hodges at the Scottsdale Artists' School, in Arizona. Her work has received awards in numerous competitions, and she is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America.


"FINAL WORKS" BY VALERIE NIELSEN MENDEZ

Painter and innovative artist Valerie Nielsen Mendez worked in mixed media, producing images that are both obscured and revealing. She passed away while finishing her last pieces for this exhibit.

Her favorite medium was Plexiglas, painted front and back, sanded, glazed, rubbed, and then layered, one sheet over another, before being attached to a foundation of panel or canvas. The image may be strong and obvious, or essentially obscured by the surface treatment. There are always surprises as the work comes together, and this creates the element of problem solving on multiple levels.

Mendez considered this process akin to navigating life -- we look for clarity, for that "slipping glimpse," that De Kooning referred to, and it's there in places or moments, and then gone again. However, there is a fascination with those times of distraction and obscurity which have their own beauty and worth. These works invite you to take a closer, deeper look at life -- to unveil the meaning of experiences, and to enjoy the process of searching.

This show features two forms of Mendez' artistic interpretation of contemplative communication. One is her traditional use of Plexiglas, and the other is her recent exploration of layers on canvas without the use of Plexi. Her piece "Clear Signs of Life" is one on canvas where she maintained the visual idea of layers through the use of circles.

While some of the paintings in "Final Works" remain unnamed, the omniscient titles of others, like "I can still hear you" and "Conversing with the Infinite" foreshadow the artist's desire to help us all examine what these obscured images reveal for each one of us.


JOAN VAUPEN "ETHEREAL LANDSCAPES"

In Joan Vaupen's new experimental work, she continues pouring and dropping watercolor and acrylic paint in and around the surface of paper, moving it with her hands and fingers.

In a review of Vaupen's previous series, critic Betty Ann Brown commented, "In some of her Moving Paint series, the handsome contrast of liquid pigment recalls the mature work of Helen Frankenthaler. Other examples echo the Northern Lights or the depths of the ocean.

Critic Mac McCloud commented, "Vaupen's work reveals a questing artist's spirit. Some of her most intriguing pieces are experimental solutions of acrylic ink and water color floating in water, where colors swirl, sink and interact in chemical ways producing 'chaotic' and unexpected shapes and tones. Very atmospheric, some are mysterious and dark, others bright and dazzlingly organic in form."

Vaupen has studied hanga (Japanese wood block printing) in Japan with Toshi Yoshida, murals in Mexico at the Instituto Allende, graduate work at the University of Washington and holds a MA in Art from CSULA.

She has exhibited in many galleries in the United States and in Fukuoka and Kitakyushu Japan. Exhibitions in Thailand include Bangkok, Burpha University, and Sangkhla.

Joan Vaupen Interview

Barbie House
sculptured acrylic with applied images 9 x 7 x 9"
Joan Vaupen

Joan Vaupen explores color, form, and meaning, using unusual materials achieving elegant results.

Where did you grow up Joan? Did that surrounding environment during those years (emotional and/or locational) contribute to your art making?

I grew up in Seattle, Washington, almost never out of sight of some body of water. Being an only child in a neighborhood with zero kids, I drew, painted and read - a lot. Every summer I’d travel to Canada with my father to visit his mother in Nelson, BC. She lived close to the Kootenay River which eventually becomes the Columbia flowing out to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon.

My uncle would bring home beautifully cut scraps of wood for his mother to use in her wood-burning stove and I used them to build temporary cities on her back porch. She had a blind friend who gave her many publications in Braille which I used for drawing and painting. Nelson is a beautiful little city surrounded by forests and water. Seattle is also a beautiful city, when it isn’t raining and you can see it.

What propels you to art making? What medium/mediums do you like to work with and for what reasons?

I make art because I can’t not make art. I love to experiment with all kinds of materials and continually explore them. I enjoy experimenting with color on metal, unusual translucent materials and light in many different formats. I work with titanium, printmaking, acrylic, aluminum, paper, ink etc. I use anything that can be used to make art. I love to experiment - developing new ideas and techniques.


Falling Clouds
sublimation dye print on dacron, acrylic with image baked and folded 60 x 21"
Joan Vaupen

How important is selling your work? Do you (or would you if you could) purchase other peoples artwork? If so - what kind of work do you or would you purchase and why?

I enjoy selling my work. It seems to sell mostly to artists. I purchase a lot of other artists work. I admire, respect, and support work that appeals to me. Some of the artists are famous and others not as well known: Bridget Riley, Claire Falkenstein, Sue Keane, Heather Lowe, Laddie John Dill, Richard Bruland. And many others.

What are you thinking when you make art?

I think about solving problems and searching for different ways to extend and enhance perceptions.

What do you feel are your greatest strengths as an art maker?

Exploring, researching and attempting to push the limits of my materials to reveal new concepts and different ways of looking at the world.



Joan Vaupen's exhibit at TAG Gallery begins on April 27, 2010.