Coming Exhibition: Christo Brock, Donn Delson, Gary Polonsky

Tuesday, March 22 – Saturday, April 16, 2016

Christo Brock – DisORDiNARY
Donn Delson – Light Amplification
Gary Polonsky – Pale Blue Dot

Opening Reception:
Saturday, March 26, 5-8PM

Artist Panel Discussion:
Saturday, April 9, at 3PM

Christo Brock
DisORDiNARY

Christo Brock, Metal Dots 1, Photo on aluminum 20x30"

In his latest exhibition, photographer Christo Brock reframes the everyday into the abstract. Form, line, and color become elemental in his treatments of flat and deep space. Formalistic in his approach to line, Brock plays with the contrast of the natural and manmade in the world he inhabits. Using his preferred medium of metal prints, Brock further abstracts form to create a new dialogue with the viewer.

The process of printing on metal is unique. It’s a throwback to older techniques of printing, an analogue of the dye-sublimation process. In the metal printing process, a negative of the image is conveyed to a transfer medium. The aluminum metal is heated to a very precise degree (around 400º), and the transfer medium is married to the heated metal. When the image comes into contact with the metal, the ink gasifies, and the image is printed into the metal. The molecules of the metals absorb the pigments, and they surround the empty space around the metal molecules. When light strikes the metal and is reflected back into the viewer’s eye, a perception of space and iridescence is created.

DisORDiNARY is a continuation of the work Brock has been investigating for the past decade. His keen eye sees the world through a unique and personal lens – lines play and interact with the frame, form is simplified, and colors are reduced to the sensorial. Space is both flat and deep, and the aluminum medium allows for abstraction of form within that space. What results is a new world of elements that challenge our notions of photography and art.

Donn Delson
Light Amplification

Donn Delson, And There Will Be Light, Archival pigment print 40x60"

Exploring the dynamic relationship between light and color, Donn Delson’s current exhibition, Light Amplification, transforms the common conceptions of photography. Intrigued by the manipulation of both natural and manufactured light, Delson explores how motion affects light and how light effects motion. Utilizing a special laser light facility, Delson experimented with laser light vectors, focal lengths, color, motion, and exposure in order to achieve a unique vision for each image. Inspired by artists such as James Turrell and Jose Parla, Delson’s exhibition combines light and color to breathe dimension into his work, creating a surreal sense of space, photographically.

Using color to create a sense of balance within the laser images, Delson’s work interacts and flows, almost as if he is painting with light. Allowing each photograph to tell its own story, Delson chooses to present images that have emotional meaning for him, which also resonate within viewers. With a similar technique that he brings to his landscape photography, Delson approaches his abstracts with a bird’s-eye view for creating a sense of place. For Delson, there must be a special moment, composition, exposure, or perspective; a reason for opening the shutter.

Gary Polonsky
Pale Blue Dot

Gary Polonsky, Jupiter, Acrylic mixed media, 12x14x19"

Fascinated by the beauty of the night sky, Gary Polonsky’s latest exhibition, A Pale Blue Dot, explores the mystery and grandeur of our solar system’s vast array of stars and planets. Beginning with one small version of planet Earth, this series quickly grew alongside Polonsky’s imagination and quest to learn more about “what’s out there”.

Working with acrylic paints and mixed media, Polonsky explores a variety of materials including Styrofoam to create his realistic replications. Polonsky works progressively by adding layer upon layer of textural characteristics such as mountain ranges, clouds, deserts and other details to achieve such realistic three-dimensional objects.

The centerpiece of the show is a large, 24” diameter version of the planet Earth that rotates slowly in the center of the room. On one wall of the gallery sits a large screen TV playing a video presentation featuring American astronomer Carl Sagan, followed by a mesmerizing video of the sun. This combination of media is meant to remind the viewer of our place in the universe -- a humbling experience, and a perspective that deserves note.