The Physical, The Unknown, The Familiar

EXHIBITING ARTISTS
SHUJI USUI
DAVID EIDE
CAMERON ZEBRUN
NATHANAEL FLINK
LINDA MORVANT
SUYAO TIAN

Opening Reception Thursday October 5th, 4 - 6 p.m.
Please come and enjoy the show, meet the artists, and have a snack & drink in the WXYZ bar @Aloft Minneapolis.
900 W#ashington Ave S Minneapolis MN 55412

ABOUT
The first encounter between people and a work of art is an experience, shaped by the physical, the unknown, and the familiar elements of the artwork. The title of our exhibit explores how these aspects of encountering art come into play when individuals first engage with a work of art for the first time or many times.

The Physical: The physical attributes of a work of art play a pivotal role in a person's initial encounter. These include the size, shape, medium, color, texture, subject, and overall composition of the artwork. The physical presence of the artwork evokes immediate reactions and emotions. In my experience with people who come to visit an exhibit, I will hear them say “i really don't know anything about art”. And my response is they know what they like which gives people permission to approach a work using their own intuition.

The Unknown: Part of the intrigue of encountering art lies in the unknown. Artworks often contain elements of mystery in the form of symbolism or abstraction, that challenge viewers to accept and also decipher meaning or intention as they perceive the work. This element of the unknown can be both captivating and disorienting and some cases actually turn a viewer away. Humans react to art on many levels and one of those is the frequency produced by a color or combination of colors. The human physiological response to color in large part affects how an individual will respond to a given work regardless of form and texture.

The Familiar: Familiarity comes with recognition where viewers draw on recognizable subjects, themes, styles, color, texture, and mixed media elements, all of which are very personal connections fielded by past experience and memory. Familiarity can come from shared cultural experiences where familiar elements can serve as a bridge, making it easier for viewers to relate to the artwork emotionally and intellectually.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Artists in this exhibition present a range of work from pigment prints to painting, mixed media, collage, sculpture, and assemblage. The following artists all present visions that convey energy, movement, and change.

Cameron Zebrun, who is well-known in the Twin Cities, has worked at his craft for years creating painted wood sculptures that employ the use of sculptural forms that are based on the artist's “observations, recordings, and mapping “of intimate patterns and forces that nature enacts on the environment. The textures, rhythms, symmetry and asymmetry, and the essences of nature’s abstract forms” are all embodied in Camerons’ process.. “Each work is an emulation of landscape and a myriad of emotional responses to sensory information filtered through an intuitive process of building forms, painting, and processing personal and found photography which results in artworks that map the fluid, non-linear experience of the life cycle”.

In addition to exhibiting with Gallery13, you can see more of Cameron's work @ Koleman Reeb Gallery in the Northrup King Building in NE Minneapolis and Cameron's work will be on exhibit at Saint Jons University in Collegeville, MN through October 15, 2022.

David Eide and I met while I was visiting the Northern Building during an art crawl in the St. Paul Arts District. David creates and builds small boxes that contain constructed scenes out of found objects and collected materials. Each work is a diorama that is seen through a lens built into the opening of each box allowing the viewer to peer in and interact with each work. A tiny light switch on the outside of teach box turns a light on that illuminates the interior: adding to the delight of the viewer.

The artist uses found lenses as a window into each work which affects the scale of each scene either by magnifying, shrinking, or creating a sort of myopic view. The entirety of the viewing experience is delightful and magical. Each box in Davids's own words:

“ emulates old televisions while serving as a portal to a world of childhood memories and contemporary events, all ingeniously captured within each intricate diorama.”

Shuji Usui has written: “Our thinking needs to go hand in hand with art creations. painting and drawing have the power to penetrate into our reality: breaking through the barrier of linguistic limitations of our thinking. That is what I believe is my accomplishment.”

Shujis’ work presents dyer circumstances one that is a harbinger of a world that has machines built and run by humans but on the flip side a world built and run by machines. In the mixed media painting ‘A City Year 2011’ the artist presents us with an image of a city being energized with power and in the distance we see what looks like an advanced aircraft dropping bombs. A dystopian view of the similarity of our current times. Overhead there appears to be a forest floating in a plasma-like bubble.

Below you can see lines of power that appear like lasers powering the city. The artist presents a dichotomy between the powered city and the reality of the apocalypse: happening simultaneously. In reality, we have this simultaneous destruction with machines providing power and comfort. This is the state of our current world Machines provide human comforts and leisure while destroying the planet and habitat.

“My work attempts to capture scenes of industrialization in modern life. Nuclear reactors and power grids are the two most recent subjects of my paintings and drawings. I believe that there is profound implication within the machines. Social systems are built upon machines and forms of these machines which express traces of our thinking. In fact, our entire social existence is influenced and controlled by our needs for comfort provided by machines like the power grid. I want to embark upon a deeper exploration of energy centers through the process of art making.”

Nathaneal Flink constructs his canvases by presenting a surprising blend of materials that incorporate found fabrics and other materials, including dye, painting, collage, mark-making, and sewing. Nathaneals’ work is an amalgamation of ideas and personal philosophy:

“materials of the object contribute to the aesthetic experience as much as the gesture”

The artist collects and dyes found fabrics as preparation and consideration of a path forward to the next part of constructing ‘canvases’. Nathaneals’ processes are a key strategy, a means but not an end, to open a new line of inquiry and exploration to how materials can applied to make surface and dimension. Canvas as an assemblage is without a doubt an avant-garde approach to creating work in layers and levels. The artists' work is not defined by the label, mixed media, as each work unifies the media flows and erases the division of materials. On my visits to Nathaneal's studio, I encountered his studio, itself a work in progress. electronics sound-making equipment, a large pile of 20th-century fabric, remnants, a sewing machine, and buckets of dye and watercolor ready for the next dye lot. Most importantly there, lining the walls is a large body of work hanging each work demonstrating Nathaneals’ intuitive and fastidious approach to his process and work. .

Nathaneal Flink  Statement
“I endeavor to manufacture surprise, to challenge viscerally – sometimes nostalgically – through pattern and a reminiscence to household objects. The shapes and asymmetrical compositional structures reveal contrary and paradoxical elements – I try to expose unobvious relationships. As Jean-Luc Marion writes ...to let burst into the scene much more than what one desires or wills.

“I have strived to hone my craftsmanship and incorporate new processes and materials in my work. A recent development, I have branched out to working with various sewing, embroidery, and weaving techniques, that use assemblage and collage as a key strategy. I am especially interested in the possibilities for crossing over between realms of sculpture, craft, painting, and drawing. In these pieces, I associate a humoristic, sometimes existential sentiment. Many different ideas collide together in theme and content, and all of it is quite personal to me. Mark-making is a key mechanism in these works especially where it exists in a raw

and unedited format. However, mark-making is created through all kinds of different media and techniques, bridging printmaking with soft materials construction methods. These compositions originate from a vulnerability or fragility from inside myself.”

Linda Morvant
I am heavily influenced by the energy and creativity of these vibrant cities: Minneapolis / Saint Paul. I draw inspiration from artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Rauschenberg and strive to create mixed-media pieces that are textured, dynamic, and full of depth. My creative process comprised experimentation and exploration. I love to combine a range of materials such as acrylics, markers, ink, pens, and found objects to create visually stimulating compositions. Each piece is a unique blend of abstract elements, with layers of color and texture that invite the viewer to explore and discover new details with each viewing. Art has the power to transform, to challenge, and to inspire. My work is an expression of my own journey and experiences, as well as a reflection of the world around me. Through my art, I hope to connect with others and spark conversations about the issues and ideas that matter most. Whether through the use of bold colors, intricate textures, or unexpected combinations of materials, my goal is to create art that is both thought-provoking and visually captivating. I invite you to join me on this creative journey and discover the magic of mixed media art.

Suyao Tian
My primary medium is watercolor, but I also use other media such as pen and ink and markers to define the details of each painting, layers, and visual depth. Mark-making, in this way, aids me in the creation of both micro and macro worlds. My creative process is to extract the fragments of memory and separate, reorganize, and integrate them. It is a process of self-release and expression. These peculiar images often appear in my memory, through dreams and subconscious imaginings and I use abstraction to catch a moment, feeling, and unclear forms that pop into my imagination. I use my painting to understand the relationship between humanity, nature, and the universe. I continue to explore the internal questions of who we are and where we are going.

In a way, my mind is like another plane of existence. My paintings represent the places I have been and the things I have seen in the world of my imagination.

Human consciousness is tangible and sacred. It is a secret space where no one else can be unless you let them in. That is why many of us are afraid to look inside because we’re afraid to be alone with our thoughts. I think of my work as a "prompt"—the abstract shapes, biomorphic figures, and unknown elements pull a viewer into an imaginative state. inviting everyone to explore and have a conversation with themselves. My work creates a peaceful and safe space that hopefully invites the viewer's mind to wander and explore,

Those who have viewed my work have said that they find my work peaceful and they find my work offers positive encouragement and a sense of healing by encouraging introspection.