MATERIAL CONSTRUCTIONS
Past viewing_room
Raúl Díaz invites us to seek refuge in a secret universe that exists within each of us - a soothing, friendly space characterized by the presence of beauty and the solitude of personal soul searching that rarely surfaces amid the chaos of contemporary life. Evoked by the artist's memories of his childhood, the mysterious images in Díaz's artworks are deeply personal and reminiscent of his own spiritual adventure. The images produce a sense of nostalgia that compels the viewer to reflect on his or her own life as well as past family histories. The past and future meld into one as the viewer contemplates his or her place within time.
Since his first exhibitions in the early 1980s, Raúl Díaz has shown an inclination towards expressing himself through figures - typically human ones. His distinct style comes from his unique technique of texturing wood panels that reveal otherworldly images. He uses mixed media to produce a tactile impression on the surface of wood panels that depicts peaceful figures among boats, kites, roses and shells. Díaz's construction of human figures is forged from an ethereal conception rather than a naturalistic representation of the human form. The characters that appear in his works are planar, out of scale silhouettes that are often seen from behind in unrealistic positions and postures. The depth of color and textures in the backgrounds of Díaz's artworks create a dream-like environment that is present in all of his work. The simplicity of the figures against these dynamic backgrounds instills a sense of calm in the viewer that is distinctive of Díaz's artworks.
Marianne Kemp's passion for weaving-the process, the repetition, the creation of textural form-is evident in her unique sculptural wall textiles. With her loom, Kemp weaves innovative, new surfaces in which the conventional weaving techniques cannot be recognized. Using horsehair and raw plant fibers, she works in a meticulously precise manner to create surfaces that seem organically morphed. Each centimeter is studied, every rhythm calculated, each structure engineered. The warp and weft are central to the weaving, with added organic elements playing the role of a transformer.
Small bunches of horsehair are interwoven in linen, cotton, silk or wool. Kemp's signature lies in her special way of molding, knotting, curling and looping the sculptural fibers, creating a three-dimensional environment. Through properties unique to horsehair and other organic materials, these woven works can appear shiny and smooth, organic and wild, or flexible and stiff. Along with horsehair she also uses other materials like dried plant fibers, coco fibers and bark fibers from trees. A work arises intuitively, the resulting fabric fits in with Marianne's current state of life. It is a 'growth process'. With her work, she wants to stimulate people to look more closely, to observe, to take their time. Slow art, that is what the weaving is about.
Marianne Kemp's inspiration draws from her inner world along with input from the outer world in street-life, fashion, architecture as well as nature or found objects. Sometimes it's the colors that attracts the attention, sometimes the shape or textures. Traveling within Europe and abroad to Mexico, Japan, Africa and Mongolia have generated a great interest in traditional art & design.
Nature is a sublime engineer. She is both a mathematician and inventor. So, too, is Rakuko Naito. For the past three decades, Naito has used her artistic practice to explore the malleability and strength of Kozo washi, a traditional Japanese paper. This exhibition features a body of serene assemblages composed of manipulated, layered, and curled strips of paper that build into dynamic sculptural works.
Naito's career has spanned many methods and materials, all with the same evident dedication to organization and inventiveness. Beginning as an optical art painter in the early 60s after moving to New York from Tokyo, she explored acrylics, spray paint, and masking tape, eventually focusing her style on the delicate, monochromatic paper assemblages that she works in today. With a natural affinity for order and structure, Naito joins a circle of artists such as Mel Bochner, Eve Hesse, and Sol LeWitt. Naito's repetition of actions, decisions, and manipulated forms combined with her avoidance of narrative is the basis for her re ned works. Naito has said, "I feel natural forms and textures have a reality that can not be competed by trying to paint or drawn by hand. I try to experiment and manipulate materials to create my own world." As a result of her methodology, Naito has found a unique class for her ideas somewhere between our notion of "drawing" and "sculpture."
66 South Glenwood Street Jackson Hole, Wyoming 83001
TEL (307) 733-0555 | info@mayafrodemangallery.com
This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.