Response: New Works by Anne Labovitz

“I create work about how political, social, and cultural platforms can be turned into personal acts of care. Conversation and interaction are integral parts of my creative process, which allow me to explore a blurred boundary between gallery exhibit and social practice. Color, texture, installation, and community building all combine to create a shared space of connection and contemplation. For years I have examined the importance of human connection and its visual embodiment. My resulting praxis embodies connection, community building, and relational exchange.

The concept of radical care is especially important to how I approach my paintings and installations. It is my way of visually expressing Martin Buber’s I/Thou philosophy, which propagates the idea that life finds its meaningfulness through seeing one and other. Much of my work realizes radical care by utilizing a dialogue and engagement process, the results of which are directly incorporated into the painting or installation. This is a reciprocal practice; intimate conversations turn into my making process, which then is presented to contribute to a public, collective voice.

This exhibition is about my time during COVID-19 and is a direct response. Each work was titled the day it was completed, marking my time alone. In March 2020 I had COVID-19 and was secluded in my bedroom.

Immediately following, I felt the pressing need to create and respond. Urgency can be seen in the fierceness of color and the feeling of my mark making.

My response comes from my intense solitude. I was considering what was happening in the world and my role in it. Concurrently I was working on a commission about travel, isolation, solitude, and longing. Some works have graffiti-like marks with words like Bon Voyage and Safe Travels. These concepts have become even more intense during the period of the pandemic.

These works investigate the intimacy of color and space. For me, color is a personal reflection, a language that crosses boundaries and can connect us.

I believe color is a life force. These works are about hope for the future; for a connection between people as we struggle through current complexities. The paintings reflect this idea because they were made in my domestic space yet became a way for me to reach out and blur the lines between private and public and between you and me.” (Anne Labovitz, 2020)

Gallery Hours
Open Tue-Sat 11-5pm and by appointment

Artist Talk
Join Burnet Gallery via Instagram Live Thursday, November 19th at 5PM for conversation between artist Anne Labovitz and arts writer Marian Lovett.

Covid-19 Precautions
Burnet Fine Art & Advisory is committed to providing a safe and healthy space for all our staff and visitors. To ensure that, we have developed the following COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Burnet Fine Art & Advisory has resumed regular hours of 11am-5pm with limits to the number of visitors in the gallery as well as increased cleaning measures. Hand sanitizer will be available for visitors. We ask that all who enter the gallery wear masks and do their best to keep a distance of 6 feet from staff and fellow visitors. Visitors can view artwork in the gallery during our hours of 11AM-5PM Tuesday-Saturday as well as by appointment. Artwork can also be purchased via phone or email correspondence and curbside pickup and delivery is available.
 

Image Credit: Anne Labovitz, 5.22.20.1 (detail), 2020, acrylic on canvas, 48” x 48”