Coming Exhibition: Lorraine Bubar, Anne Ramis, Katherine Rohrbacher

Tues. November 25 - Sat. December 20, 2014

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 29, 5-8 p.m.

Artist Talk: Saturday, December 13, 3pm

Mountain Lore, Lorraine Bubar

Lorraine Bubar, Denali, Papercut, 39 x 35.5 in

Lorraine Bubar's current exhibition was inspired by her Artist-in-Residency spent in Denali National Park in Alaska where she immersed herself in the diversity of life thriving in that vast wilderness. “Artists have had a long relationship with national parks, interpreting them in meaningful ways that inspire and enrich the experience for future visitors,” says Bubar. Her painterly, intricate papercuts illustrate the simultaneous strength and fragility of this mountain environment, while echoing the same strength and fragility of the paper medium. Mountains, with their inherent magnitude and mystery, have inspired travelers, climbers, writers, artists, and dreamers alike. Papercutting is an art form created in countries around the world, and in these cultures many tales occur in mountain environments - places that hold beauty, drama, and intrigue. Bubar’s addition of the narrative woven within her newest work addresses the tales that evolved from the mystique and power of the wilderness and evolved from the impact of illustrating a children’s book. The book, “Lullaby,” written by Debbie Friedman and illustrated by Bubar, was released by Jewish Lights Publishing this fall.

Landscapes: Fact and Fiction, Anne Ramis

Anne Ramis, What Next, Mixed Media, 16.5 x 26 in

Creating in the spirit of Robert Rauschenberg’s combination techniques, Anne Ramis applies her own combinative artistry to her latest body of work. Working within several different types of media, incorporating drawing, painting and collage elements, Ramis’ ethereal landscapes present a dual sense of foreboding and wonder. “This show combines earlier with recent landscapes,” says Ramis. “[These are] places that I’ve lived in and places that I’ve passed -- places that do and do not exist.” Lavender skies and jagged rocks form a winding path in works like “What Next” while verdant mossy abstractions and deep blues form surreal pools of water in “Giglio, Now.” In certain works, cut-out photographs of Ramis’ own dogs are dispersed among the rocks, as Ramis illustrates surreal terrains that act as a form of personal topography. The effect is that of a vivid dream, at once familiar and foreign.

Metamorphosis, Katherine Rohrbacher

Katherine Rohrbacher, Blossom, Oil on Canvas, 40 x 30 in

Poet Ovid pronounces in Book One of his mythological epic, Metemorphesis, “I intend to speak of forms changed into new entities.” Katherine Rohrbacher provides a modern meditation on transformation, posing the question of what it means to change -- whether artificially or naturally. In an era where physical perfection is held paramount, the lengths to which individuals may go to edit both bodily imperfections and age, is a 21st century crusade. Rohrbacher’s large format paintings offer a confrontational view of surface beauty. Charcoal and oil self-portraits offer a glimpse of the psychological impact of surgery in a series titled “Nose Job,” as Rohrbacher presents her own likeness as the face of change. Motifs of decaying roses and ceramic butterflies encircle other works, addressing metamorphosis directly, while illustrating the fragile, brief circle of life. A gallery installation featuring live flowers in jars that trace the actual dimensions of a casket will accompany Rohrbacher’s paintings and ceramic works for the duration of the exhibition, mirroring the same delicate stages of life and death that she confronts in her work. She will also show in New York at the Edward Hopper House in their 21st annual Small Matters of Great Importance Exhibition, on view October 25 through December 27, 2014.