South of No North, East of No West

Off Piste,
oil & spray paint on mdf, 27 x 25cm, 2014
 
 
 
 
South of No North, East of No West
 
Lowe Mill Gallery, Huntsville, Alabama, opening Jan 9
 
 
South of No North, East of No West brings together 16 artists from all over the world. Having followed these artists for some time it is with great pleasure that I am able to show them side by side. Each is constantly exploring their medium while creating a mature body of work. Each has a constant dialogue with their work and with the contemporary artworld at large. Many of the artists live in major art centers such as New York or London while others make work in places such as the Skagit Valley in Washington State or Ambler, Pennsylvania. It is this relationship that intrigued me while curating this show. The idea that an artist can make good, honest work no matter the setting is the central theme of this show.
 
curated by Brian Edmonds
 
Featured Artists:
Ky Anderson (Brooklyn)
Paul Behnke (Brooklyn)
Karl Bielik (London)
Valerie Brennan (Cyprus)
Clayton Colvin (Alabama)
Brian Cypher (Washington State)
William Lawler (Athens)
James Lambert (Huntsville)
Meg Lipke (Brooklyn)
Dale McNeil (Memphis)
David T. Miller (Ambler, PA)
Amy Pleasant (Birmingham)
Pete Schulte (Tuscaloosa)
Vicki Sher (Brooklyn)
Julie Torres (Brooklyn)
Sabine Tress (Cologne)
Rebecca Young (Huntsville)


 

we'll swim we'll be happy




we'll swim we'll be happy,
oil, charcoal and chalk on mdf panel,
120 x 99cm
 

Inner Scenery





Inner Scenery
 
Kentaro Baba, Jan de Beus, Valerie Brennan
 
7 - 28 November 2014
 
Opening : Friday 7 November, 7.30 pm
 
Opening hours:
Thursday and Friday: 10:00-13:00 and 16:00-18:00, Saturday: 10:00-13:00
 
This exhibition showcases drawings/paintings on paper of three artists who usually make abstract paintings.   Works on paper often reveals more personal and direct feelings of the artists as they are made much quicker compared to the paintings.  The exhibition is an unique opportunity to see how abstract painters explore the themes of memory, personal experiences and landscape with different materials.
 
 
 
 
 


New


Emily's Bracelet,
Oil & spray paint on mdf panel, 80 x 65cm

Kiosk of Democracy

 
 


 
 
Kiosk is a really great blog run by artist Sascha Windolph
 


I´m Jealous of Your Failure

K´s Predicament
 
 

I’m Jealous of Your Failure

September 29 – October 23 • Reception: October 2, 5:30 – 8:00 pm, HSB 201 Visual Arts Gallery

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present I’m Jealous of Your Failure, a group exhibition that showcases interpretations of failure, personal or otherwise. The exhibit contains the work of over 30 contemporary artists from all over the country and is curated by Trew Schriefer.

“In the beginning, I asked the participating artists to submit a work that they felt was a ‘failure’ in their own studio practice,” said Schriefer, a Moline, Illinois native.
The thematic direction of the show expanded from there, but, as several of the works included will reflect, remained rooted in the exploration of failure.

Exhibiting artists include John Phillip Abbott, Timothy Bergstrom, Valerie Brennan, Todd Chilton, Ryan Travis Christian, Bill Conger, Paul DeMuro, Austin Eddy, Andreas Fischer, Ted Gahl, Richard Galling, Benjamin Gardner, Ethan Gill, Shara Hughes, Stacie Johnson, Bob Jones, Brian Kapernekas, Judy Ledgerwood, Marcie Oakes, Michael Rea, Nina Rizzo, Steve Ruiz, Cordy Ryman, Trew Schriefer, Peter Shear, Geoffrey Todd Smith, Jason Stopa, Michael Wille, and Scott Wolniak.


Grifter

Grifter,
oil & spray paint on mdf, 120 x 99cm,  2014

White Hours

 
 

Scandinavian Silences


Scandinavian Silences,
oil & spray paint on mdf, 120 x 99 cm, 2014

Off The Wall

Off The Wall,
9th Annual Terrace, London, curated by Karl Bielik

drawing


charcoal, chalk & acrylic on Sanders, each 56 x 76cm, 2014


Take Turns Project

 
Valerie Brennan>>>>>>>>>Patrick Corcoran
 

Run Into Yourself

 
Run Into Yourself
 
image: Patrick Michael Fitzgerald,
Hanging(dissolution), 2014, oil & collage on linen,130x105cm
 
Featuring:
 
Patrick Michael Fitzgerald
Fran O Neill
HK Zamani
Alan Van Every
Jasmine Justice
Sangram Majumdar
 
Curated by Valerie Brennan
 
 
 
 
 


Landscapes for P.P.



 
 
 
 



acrylic & gel medium on canson paper

A Dream Within A Dream

 
 
 



A dream within a dream, Bankley Gallery & Studio, curated by Pluspace
artists: Karl Bielik, Claudia Boese, Valerie Brennan,  Sarah McNulty, 
Sophie Rees, Melanie Russell,  Sabine Tress

Acacia

Acacia,
3 drawings, charcoal & chalk pastel, 120 x 60cm, 2014

a dream within a dream



Claudia Boese / Appearance (Anschein)  2014 oil on assembled canvas and board  25x30cm, photo: Douglas Atfield

A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM 15th May / 18.00 - 21.00 @ Bankley Studios & Gallery
Karl Bielik, Claudia Boese, Valerie Brennan,  Sarah McNulty, Sophie Rees, Melanie Russell,  Sabine Tress

"Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?"

Edgar Allan Poe

The exhibition takes its title from a work by Sabine Tress, ‘A dream within a dream’, 2014. The Edgar Allan Poe poem which it shares the same name with is a poem about trying to  distinguish between reality and fantasy.

In a similar way to dreaming, the activity of abstract painting often treads the line between reality and fantasy, sometimes it is hard to separate the two from each other. The unconscious state  of dreaming offers us access to different memories and ideas, whilst in painting we can often  look back at created paintings and realise that something has been included in the work from  a previous memory.

The fully immersive activity of creating an abstract painting, with the full involvement, and the enjoyment of the process can create a kind of flow. This cognitive flow is a well accepted an idea proposed by  Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Cognitive flow suggests that some activities creates an energized focus, and results in all your attention being put into the task at hand with no more attention being left for anything else.  There is a merging of action and awareness as well as improvement of performance which results in a intrinsically rewarding experience.

The focus of flow can offer clear goals and direction which in turn offers great feedback, giving the painter the feeling that their actions matter and have a real effect on the painting and world.

A Dream within a Dream continues a thread of Pluspace exhibitions, such as Painted Thought (2014), Without an Edge there is no Middle (2013), Form / Function (2013) and Meditations (2013), that examines contemporary painting.

Continues
Every Saturday / 12.30 - 17.30
17th May - 7th June

Sales and information please contact matthew@pluspace.com

sweet little lies

triptych, oil & spray paint on mdf, each 25 x 22cm, 2014

el dorado

El Dorado,
oil & spray paint on mdf panel, 80 x 65cm, 2014
 
 

Farewell Aquarius @ Granazi Art Space

New Paintings @ Granazi Art Space, Nicosia
Opening Fri March 7 @ 19:00

lime walk

The Lime Walk,
oil & spray paint on mdf panel, 27 x 22cm, 2014

in process

Paul Behnke posts a great series "in process" on his blog Structure & Imagery.
 Artists are invited to share the progress of a particular painting.
Here is a link to the story of my painting " Not yet titled" from 2013. here
 
 
Some of  the other posts in the series that I have enjoyed are:

Mocking Bird

Thanks to Steve Gibson for including me
 on his wonderful blog Mocking Bird