Sunday: New Year's Brunch!

Join us to get the New Year started at the Front Room Gallery.
Brunch starts at 2pm!

and be sure not to miss:

“Montrose”

EXTENDED through January 8th

featuring:
Thomas Broadbent
Sascha Mallon
Karen Marston
Miho Suzuki


Front Room Gallery is proud to present, “Montrose” an exhibition of new works by: Thomas Broadbent, Sascha Mallon, Karen Marston and Miho Suzuki. Featuring artists who were selected to participate in the Montrose Farm Artist Residency, in historic Long Green Valley, Maryland. Invited artists were given two week residencies during June-July 2011 to develop and inspire new works the results of the residency will be exhibited from December 9th- January 1st.


MontroseMiho Suzuki's video and photography explores concepts in cultural anthropological studies in human nature. Her work uses her own experiences as a Universalist visual poetry of longing with a hint of the absurd. At the residency, Suzuki composed the first movement of “Paper Piano” a video of her fantasy of becoming an artistic pianist. Creating a paper piano and selecting idea practice spaces on the private grounds of the farm, Suzuki frames herself into the scenario she has created. On view will be a selection of photographs, the paper piano itself and a video presentation of the first movement of Suzuki’s “Paper Piano”.


MontroseKaren Marston’s disturbingly beautiful paintings of disasters, both natural and man-made, instill a sense of awe in the growing litany of frightening disasters consuming the world around us: volcanoes, tornadoes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns, global warming, war upon war. During the residency, Marston painted outdoors, absorbed in peaceful, beautiful scenes, capturing the immediacy of nearby landscapes. Not exactly disparate, the dark shadows in the woods and the forming clouds hint at destructive power, while the oil fires in her studio work are as gorgeous as they are deadly. Exploring the subtle movements of the light and sky, the colors, shapes and emotional tenor of a particular place in the moment has informed and deepened her studio work year round. Marston is equally influenced by the history of awe inspired landscape painting (from Turner’s storms to Church’s icebergs), as by the stream of violent images in our daily news feed, as well as the direct dialog with nature and organic form fed from painting plein air.


MontroseSascha Mallon’s presents in this exhibition a new series of ceramic sculptures that are inspired by figures from her intensive drawing works. Her time at the residency allowed for the development of two-dimensional figures to 3-d representations. Imagioned as objects discovered in the forest, these delicately formed pieces are encased in selected wooden boxes to give the impression that they are mementos from a lost world. Mallon’s work, in both her drawing practice and this new series of sculptural works create a narrative from history: history of symbiosis of man and nature, but also history of human imperfection, bringing to life protagonists of stories about greed, fear, love, hurt, emptiness and beauty.


MontroseThomas Broadbent’s large scale watercolor paintings convey the importance of books as well as the sense of loss that has occurred with the advent of technologies such as smart phones, e-books and computers. During the residency Broadbent was able to enjoy the isolated environment and focus on further developing this series. These works on paper are developed from principal concepts and ideas from Broadbent’s private artist’s log. Broadbent’s sensitivity to color, tactility, and structure propel these thoughts into reality, while maintaining a key tie to illusion and metaphor. His goal in these works is not to fetishize the book but to point out its place at this pivotal moment in history.





Ross Racine and Patricia Smith in "Aipotu: Visions" at Mikhail Zakin Gallery


UPCOMING EXHIBITION AT THE MIKHAIL ZAKIN GALLERY

DEMAREST, NJ – The Mikhail Zakin Gallery at The Art School at Old Church is excited to present Aipotu: Visions, a group exhibition of contemporary artists and their myriad representations of Utopia. The exhibit is on view through January 17, 2012. There is a free, public reception on Thursday, December 15, 2011, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. The exhibition is wheelchair accessible.

The etymology, or root of the word utopia is a good place to start contemplating the Aipotu: Visions exhibition and the artists represented. The word Utopia comes from the Greek: ο ("not") and τόπος ("place") and translates literally as “no place”. Essentially, it suggests that the perfect place can be found no place. On the other hand, beauty can be found in pursuing such a place through the artistic spirit and its many manifestations. Most importantly, artists unique visions of what utopia may be like, whether real or imaginary, can change the world.

As a result, utopia is a strong current of thought and a great source of inspiration for many artists over the ages. From the stark modernist pursuits of the Bauhaus school to the idealistic endeavors of the artists of Black Mountain College and into our own time with the dystopian chaos in the work of Ryan Trecartin, the ideas embodied by utopian thinking have been consistently pursued by artists of each era. Neither totally utopian nor dystopian, the artists in this exhibition hold a place much more elusive in their meaning and intention.

Patricia Smith’s mythic worlds are created with pen, ink and rubber stamps. Using the language of historical nautical maps and illustrations, her work transports the viewer into strange and unfamiliar places. Her drawings are engaged with the whole gamut of human emotion, from the utopian notion of a city built for one, to the more melancholy feeling of a space dedicated solely to mourning. In this vein, yet accomplished through sculpture, Kim Holleman’s work is most directly engaged with the duality of utopia and dystopia proposed by the exhibition with much of her work depicting the beauty that can come from the most detrimental environmental catastrophes. Gleaming pools of oil and caustic rust are placed in what could otherwise be considered a more traditional and idyllic setting.

The work of Andrew Bain and Chris Ballantyne comes from a surreal tradition, with paintings and installations that truly depict no place. Bain’s work gives the viewer a glimpse into a fantastical world, a triad of anthropomorphic animals, laser rainbows and huge clusters of roses. Ballantyne’s paintings are focused on the human landscape, where strange but seemingly familiar interventions and architectural slights of hand create dream like worlds. Each has a very distinct style, but a calm sensibility permeates the work, creating openings for earnest contemplation. In the most abstract sense, Gillian Stoneburner’s paintings are surreal combinations of landscapes and cultural references. They are playful in their subtly subversive nature, yet have a sense of urgency and discomfort.

In Brandon Friend’s timely series of work, menacing riot police with shields and batons drawn are rendered intricately through the collage of delicate wrapping papers and domestic patterns. Through this technique, the traditional symbols of dystopia are diluted to the point of becoming beautiful. Using a similar strategy, Ross Racine’s computer rendered drawings of suburban tracts found in every corner of the United States takes this utopian ideal to its extreme. Endless rows of houses and roads to and from nowhere expose some of the more poetic and comical aspects to this dream gone wrong.

Each artist in the show brings a unique vision of what “no place” could potentially be like. With the world spinning faster each day, these visions help slow it down from time to time, in the most unexpected ways.

For more information on the Art School at Old Church, visit www.tasoc.org or call 201-767-7160.

561 Piermont Road

Demarest, NJ 07627

201-767-7160

www.tasoc.org

Gallery hours

Monday - Friday: 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM & 7:00-9:00 PM

Saturday: 9:30 AM - 12: 00 PM

Ross Racine and Olalekan Jeyifous in "Flatlands" Exhibition at Skink Ink Editions

Ross Racine & Olalekan Jeyifous

Title: Flatlands

Exhibition dates: Dec. 9th. 2011 to Jan. 22nd. 2012

Gallery hours: 11am to 6pm

Thursday through Sunday

Skink Ink Editions is pleased to present Flatlands a show exploring digital drawing and its relationship to urban and suburban landscapes and architecture. It is a pairing of artists Ross Racine and Lekan Jeyifous through similar subject and process and a heightened awareness of the artificial in the contemporary environment. Themes of urban and suburban housing, architecture, surveillance, and landscape are examined through the medium of prints that originate as drawings made on a computer.

Olalekan Jeyifous is a Nigerian-born, Brooklyn based artist who received his degree in Architecture from Cornell University. Olalekan’s specialization in architecture and architectural software has driven the focus in his recent art to explore the facades of large abandoned buildings. These facades are a hybrid of industrial architecture covered in surreal elements futuristic devices and tools of surveillance. Olalekan’s work has been featured in the New York Times, The Brooklyn Rail and the New York Sun.

Ross Racine is a Canadian artist who works in Montreal and New York City and received his MFA from Concordia University. The subjects of his recent work may be interpreted as models for planned communities as much as aerial views of fictional suburbs. Referring to the dual role of the computer as a tool for urban planning as well as image capture and examining the relation between design and actual lived experience, the works subvert the apparent rationality of urban design, exposing conflicts that lurk beneath the surface.

Each artist has produced an edition for the show and all works will be giclée prints made by Skink Ink Fine Art Printing.


"Montrose" Exhibition Opens Friday December 9th

“Montrose”
December 9-January 1

Opening Reception: Friday, December 9th, 7-9pm
featuring:
Thomas Broadbent
Sascha Mallon
Karen Marston
Miho Suzuki

Front Room Gallery is proud to present, “Montrose” an exhibition of new works by: Thomas Broadbent, Sascha Mallon, Karen Marston and Miho Suzuki. Featuring artists who were selected to participate in the Montrose Farm Artist Residency, in historic Long Green Valley, Maryland. Invited artists were given two week residencies during June-July 2011 to develop and inspire new works the results of the residency will be exhibited from December 9th- January 1st.

Miho Suzuki's video and photography explores concepts in cultural anthropological studies in human nature. Her work uses her own experiences as a Universalist visual poetry of longing with a hint of the absurd. At the residency, Suzuki composed the first movement of “Paper Piano” a video of her fantasy of becoming an artistic pianist. Creating a paper piano and selecting idea practice spaces on the private grounds of the farm, Suzuki frames herself into the scenario she has created. On view will be a selection of photographs, the paper piano itself and a video presentation of the first movement of Suzuki’s “Paper Piano”.

Karen Marston’s disturbingly beautiful paintings of disasters, both natural and man-made, instill a sense of awe in the growing litany of frightening disasters consuming the world around us: volcanoes, tornadoes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns, global warming, war upon war. During the residency, Marston painted outdoors, absorbed in peaceful, beautiful scenes, capturing the immediacy of nearby landscapes. Not exactly disparate, the dark shadows in the woods and the forming clouds hint at destructive power, while the oil fires in her studio work are as gorgeous as they are deadly. Exploring the subtle movements of the light and sky, the colors, shapes and emotional tenor of a particular place in the moment has informed and deepened her studio work year round. Marston is equally influenced by the history of awe inspired landscape painting (from Turner’s storms to Church’s icebergs), as by the stream of violent images in our daily news feed, as well as the direct dialog with nature and organic form fed from painting plein air.

Sascha Mallon’s presents in this exhibition a new series of ceramic sculptures that are inspired by figures from her intensive drawing works. Her time at the residency allowed for the development of two-dimensional figures to 3-d representations. Imagioned as objects discovered in the forest, these delicately formed pieces are encased in selected wooden boxes to give the
impression that they are mementos from a lost world. Mallon’s work, in both her drawing practice and this new series of sculptural works create a narrative from history: history of symbiosis of man and nature, but also history of human imperfection, bringing to life protagonists of stories about greed, fear, love, hurt, emptiness and beauty.

Thomas Broadbent’s large scale watercolor paintings convey the importance of books as well as the sense of loss that has occurred with the advent of technologies such as smart phones, e-books and computers. During the residency Broadbent was able to enjoy the isolated environment and focus on further developing this series. These works on paper are developed from principal concepts and ideas from Broadbent’s private artist’s log. Broadbent’s sensitivity to color, tactility, and structure propel these thoughts into reality, while maintaining a key tie to illusion and metaphor. His goal in these works is not to fetishize the book but to point out its place at this pivotal moment in history.