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.”