– Opening date –3/26/2021 6 pm to 9 pm
– Closing date – 3/27/2021 11 am to 6 pm
– Address: 516 Bedford St , Dallas , Tx , 75212
– Exhibit title: Connect: Our response to the year
– Artists: Andrea Guay, Elizabeth Wilson, Jay Chung, Francene Christian, April Henegar, David Klucsarits
Small masked groups allowed through the exhibition space
Plenty of room outdoors for seating and social distancing; fire pit and DJ on Friday evening
Due to the necessity for the outside area to be used – event canceled if inclement weather
As the world went into states of lockdown, quarantining, and stilted movements in 2020, artists continued in their studios.
Used to working on their own practices and within their own worlds, the new challenge became of the mind when the body couldn’t escape for a reprieve with loved ones at the seaside, in the mountains, or just across the city.
‘Submerged’ began with not a single direction, but the first artist’s hand. Andrea Guay turned to her palette indigo to fill the panel with an immersion of ocean values, both the Atlantic and Pacific, that she calls home. Guay has spent this past year exploring the idea of finding stillness amidst turbulence. For her, the coastlines are places where you find magic, and calm. Indeed, when Elizabeth Wilson saw the blue she was transported back to her roots growing up in the Pacific Islands, and a mantra that she created as a youth to calm herself during chaotic times, ‘Peace in the ocean’s mind. I am peaceful and float gracefully through’. Adding some of her biomimetic architectural elements to the work, was reminiscent of Wilson’s painting ‘Into the Blue,’ which feels very Atlantean.
As the painting evolved, water became an important element. Francene Christianson loved its bubbles and depth and decided to include a figure. She chose a diver because divers are suspended; about to enter the water, but also not quite there yet. This is how Christianson says she felt during this pandemic. Missing being able to dive into things the way she used to, feeling about to re-enter the world, but also separate from it.
Artist Djay Chung lay down some of his signature paintworks with tints of magenta working beautifully against the blue. Chung is driven to explore the contemporary state of the world through the trials of society, and the willpower of the individuals he spends time with. Usually, Chung is traveling doing humanitarian work. At this time, the willpower had to be his, to stay put. Chung says, “There was a time when it was comforting to say that humans were islands that could not be reached, but connected by the sea. Now, however, having been through forced separation, I see that the value of regeneration comes through connection. During this era of Corona when small beings found it hard to survive, “connection” is the breakthrough. The power to overcome pandemics comes from a paradox of solidarity and connection”.
April Henegar connects to the artwork with her botanical-inspired organic fiber circles, bubbling-up against the other, moving our eye through the painting. Artist David Klucsarits adds some 3D tentacles to the bottom-left section of the painting, enough to be seen, but a delightful surprise on discovery. In making his pieces Klucsarits states, “Although I use modern digital technology to aid in making my pieces, my goal is to keep the “ hand-made” styling, to emphasize a tactile feeling to the work.” Indeed, his tentacles, as well as this one-of-a-kind / one-of-an-era painting, are hard to resist!
