Minor Max Patch. Lainard Bush, artist
By Natasha Anderson
Blue Spiral 1 presents four new exhibits beginning with an opening reception Friday, January 5, from 5–7 p.m. and running through February 21. In the Main Level Gallery, the artists in Lay It On: Impasto, Stacking, + Layering enhance their chosen mediums to construct intricately layered surfaces; canvases are enriched with countless coats of paint, bowls are stacked with bicycle innertubes and clay vases are embellished with intricate pattern overlays. Through these works, the artists showcase the diverse ways in which paint, fiber, collage and clay can be generously applied or altered.
Supplication. Heidi Tarver, artist
“I’m inspired by the fundamental human activity of hand craftsmanship and the power of singular objects,” says ceramicist Heidi Tarver. “My intention is to create objects with presence that invite, and sometimes demand, the full attention of the viewer.”
Other participating artists are Austin Ballard, Lainard Bush, Charles Ladson, Brian Rego, Jon Rollins, Gregor Turk and Katie Walker.
In the Lower Level Gallery, Color Stories explores how color is used as a driving force of design and concept in art. Artists in this exhibition use color in different ways; some assimilate it to create a moody atmosphere; some use it to distinguish objects; some create pattern and design and some use it to express emotion or emphasize a narrative.
Exhibiting artists are Connie Lippert, Jean Gumpper, Chris Liberti, Ed Nash, Michael Poness and Hayden Wilson.
Works by Charles Goolsby, Frank Hursh, and Zack Noble will be shown in the Showcase Gallery. The three artists unite in an exhibition that explores the emotive interplay between line and shape. Noble forges steel into stoic designs, while Hursh and Goolsby use concentrated gestural strokes and monumental shapes to formulate their paintings. Displayed together, their works harmoniously capture both intimate and colossal configurations.
Gold Murrine Bottle. Hayden Wilson, artist
In the Small Format Gallery Eric Knoche: Circles presents Knoche’s uniquely shaped clay created through diverse hand-building techniques. The wood-fired surfaces, imbued with patina, emerge from a dynamic interplay of results from materials-used, kiln placement, and firing technique, echoing influences of ancient architecture and the earth itself.
“Twenty-five years ago my painting instructor, Soonja Oh Kim, told me that it would be good for me to focus on one thing and not jump around so much,” says Knoche “Two and a half decades later I have decided to take her advice. In my past exhibitions I displayed a large variety of work in a range of different forms, but the work in this exhibition focuses on one simple, elegant and ubiquitous form: the circle.”
Learn more at BlueSpiral1.com.
