Artist Spotlight: Elizabeth Szymczak's "Transition"

Elizabeth Szymczak, Letting Go, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

TAG Gallery presents Transition, a collection of oil paintings on canvas by Elizabeth Szymczak that explore surrealistic figural compositions full of emotional narrative.

Elizabeth Szymczak, Mercy, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

The art of dance has always been an inspiration for Szymczak, it’s influence bleeding over into this body of work and inspiring many of her figural compositions. The artist uses images from past performances and choreography for referential material by re-staging scenes her studio with models. Using this method as a starting point, Szymczak pushes further, integrating her own unique imagery into the painting, transforming the work from something representational into the realm of personal fantasy. Szymczak explores this notion visually as well, utilizing butterflies to symbolize transformation, or doves as visual signifiers of peace. 

Elizabeth Szymczak, Transition, Oil on canvas, 40 x 40"

The content of this collection goes beyond the athleticism and appreciation of dance. Szymczak uses figures to convey vague emotional narratives that the viewer can connect to. The subject matter comes from personal experiences where the artist has had to overcome a personal struggle or trial, something common of the human experience. 

Elizabeth Szymczak, Avoidance, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

According to Szymczak, the human experience is not black and white and is contains many grey areas. As such, Transition also delves into the concept of duality. Using light and dark paints to show contrast, Szymczak’s canvases detail scenes of internal struggle as all human beings battle with the balance of dark and light in their own lives. This exhibition offers us a chance to take a moment for self-reflection in a busy world where we often forget to take in the larger picture.

Elizabeth Szymczak, Pathways, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

Current Exhibition: Lorraine Bubar, Katie Crown, Carol Kleinman, Elizabeth Szymczak

October 25th - November 19th, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 5th, 5-8PM

Artist Panel: Saturday, November 12th, 2016, 3pm

Lorraine Bubar – Underwater

Lorraine Bubar, On the Surface, Papercut, 22x31"

Katie Crown – Audiences

Katie Crown, Voir Dire, Oil on canvas, 48 x 60"

Carol Kleinman – The Secret Life of Windows

Carol Kleinman, Paris - Quartet, Single exposure image on canvas, 11 x 30"

Elizabeth Szymczak - Transition

Elizabeth Szymczak, May the Force Be With You, Oil on canvas, 24 x 36"

DEADLINE EXTENDED for TAG's California Open Exhibition until June 30, 2015

Artists!
Consider entering TAG's Califirnia Open juried exhibition.
The juror this year is Jim Morphesis.
For more information, please click here. 

Elizabeth Szymczak and Tom Wheeler had these pieces in the 2014 California Open Exhibition.
They became TAG members in 2015.

Elizabeth Szymczak, Repose, Oil on Canvas, 24x30, 2013

Tom Wheeler, Ghost Trees, Digital Print, 20x30, 2013

Tom Wheeler, Plastic Horse, Digital Print, 20x30, 2013

Spotlight On: Elizabeth Szymczak

Choreographed Color, Elizabeth Szymczak at TAG Gallery, 24 February – 21 March 2015

Elizabeth Szymczak, Repose, Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in 

Elizabeth Szymczak's current exhibition at TAG is entitled Choreographed Color.  It features representational figurative oil paintings celebrating the human form using compositionally vague atmospheres, anatomy, light and expression.  Following is text from her Artist Statement.

"I have always had a passion for dance, particularly the juxtaposition between the physicality of the discipline and it’s expressive aspects. Dance is a technical art with its own vocabulary, it takes so much control and rehearsal to achieve the beautiful results seen on stage, and tickles the boundaries of careful thought with unfiltered expression. I see the process of painting the same way, this body of work is a direct mirror of my love for both disciplines. Just as a dancer is trying to find their artistic voice, a visual artist is trying to do the same; yearning for that delicate balance between technique and expression. 

Elizabeth Szymczak, Behind Every Great Man, Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in

My painting style and process takes root in the classical painting principles of the Renaissance. I primarily focus on the contemporary dance genre, as this is the discipline I am most familiar with and less costume gets in the way so that I can study more anatomy. I draw and paint dancers as they move in rehearsal and on stage, which helps keep my brushwork fresh. Because of my dance training, I can choreograph dancers into compositions, which allows me to control the costume, concept and lighting conditions. In addition to working from life and photographs, I rely on anatomy books, invention, travels, thumbnails, drawings, and color studies for referential material. But the real magic happens in the unplanned moments of painting, when I find the right balance between technique and expression.

Elizabeth Szymczak, Reflection, Oil on canvas, 32 x 48 in

As a semi-professional dancer, I toured with small dance companies in the Midwest. I have chosen to continue my passion for dance with figurative painting. I choreograph strong and purposeful figures with emotion and energy. I like to dance on the boundary between which emotions are acceptable to see in public, which is why some of my paintings seem “dark.” For me, the figure can metamorphose into so many conceptual directions, so I try to convey common emotions of the human psyche."

Upcoming Exhibition: Christo Brock, Elizabeth Szymczak, Kamil Vojnar

February 24 - March 21, 2015

Reception: Saturday, February 28, 5-8 pm

Artist Talk : Saturday, March 7, 3 pm

Unwonted Eye, Christo Brock

Christo Brock, Tortured Orange Line, Photo on metal, 20 x 30 in

In his latest work, Brock continues to explore unwonted (unusual, unexpected) imagery from everyday life.  His eye ranges from the languid rolling ocean in “Ripples #3” to the macroscopic “Tortured Orange Line” and the enhanced fantastical forest-scape of “Christmas Trees”.  In all his imagery, printed exclusively on metal, Brock shows the unique vision that has characterized his work. 

It’s this metal surface that provides a medium to complete Brock’s abstraction of image.  These photographs don’t merely sit on the metal as a photograph - they seem to live in the metal.  His images shimmer and glisten, and the metal often adds a welcomed element of abstraction to his work.  At times, Brock plays with the metal, as if daring to evoke the molecules to speak. Dew Drops become glowing orbs, waves become undulating stripes of blue, trees become lines of color and depth.

Choreographed Color, Elizabeth Szymczak

Elizabeth Szymczak, Dream, Oil on canvas, 30 x 30 in.

"Contemporary figure painting has become, for the most part, too stabile. People sit, stand, or lie around the house or garden, stolid and inert, their poses without animation, often they seem as if they were stuffed. By not moving, they often fail to move us: the loss of animation has meant a loss to painting, in the range of both expression and subject matter,” wrote art historian Gerald Ackerman in his paper, “On Motion in Art”.

Elizabeth Szymczak captures the dynamism of motion, whilst maintaining an exemplary level of realism. She paints out of a love for dance and the expressing of emotion through movement. Szymczak’s paintings render what the figures are attempting to evoke.

As her latest body of work, Choreographed Color is a more positive collection. Szymczak concentration is centered on the blend of surrealism and realism. As in life, she is striving to find the right balance between expression and approach.

Just Pictures, Kamil Vojnar

Kamil Vojnar, From History of Aviation, mixed media on wood, 16 x 16 in.

Just Pictures is anything but… JUST PICTURES. Its a desperate cry, … it’s a hand sticking out from the water, trying to grab to whatever, to anything, that is still true and real, in today’s fast-paced world. Vojnar himself pronounces his work to be above everything else, … about collisions … “Of yellowish nostalgia, melancholy, of our sepia tinted past. colliding with the cold, ultra LED HDTV plasma, retina display, uninspiring, robotic present.”

Vojnar utilizes many paradoxical elements in his work. His pieces have a gritty, yet delicate and elegant feel. They are ethereal, yet remarkably tangible. The drips of paint, the layering of the image across numerous pieces of paper and the familiar elements and details in each piece (shoes, a sofa, a mirror, etc.) make the work part of our world. At the same time, central to the images are figures that are detached and untouchable. Like a muse or angels, they elude the viewer and perhaps the artist as well.