Local Art Seen: Tara Austin @ the Joseph Nease Gallery's "A Warm Reset"

I first saw Tara Lynn Austin's work at a Duluth Art Institute show in My 2018, the year she finished her MFA at Madison. The show, Boreal Ornament, featured wonderfully intricate imagery and memorably vivid patterns and designs. 

Having grown up in Grand Marais, it's not surprising she did her undergraduate studies at UMD where she discovered Professor Ryuta Nakajima, who amplified her interest in the intersection between science and art. "I became interested in Victorian botanical illustrations while I was at UMD, especially those of Ernst Haeckel, and I spent a lot of time in the greenhouse," she said of that time. "I started reading about the mathematics found in nature, like golden spiral, Fibonacci sequence, and fractals."

A year ago, Austin was slated to be a featured artist at the Joseph Nease Gallery here in Duluth. Unfortunately, the pandemic and subsequent lockdown closed the doors at JNG until this past weekend when their new show launched titled A Warm Reset. Tara Austin is one of the artists who has work on display this spring through June 26. 

The more you engage, the more you see... much like life itself.

Tara Austin, Liz James and Tim White will be featured April 10 at a JNG artists talk. The JNG is located at 23 West 1st Street here in Duluth.

To learn more about exhibitions, represented artists and gallery hours

visit the Joseph Nease Gallery website at

http://www.josephneasegallery.com/

A Warm Reset: David Bowen at JNG

"the other side (3-18-19)"

The doors are open at Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth. The new show features mostly familiar artists and a lot of new work. The recommended protocol is to make an appointment because of the requirement for social distancing which is still in effect. 

Artists represented include Matthew Kluber, Liz James, Allen Killian Moore, Tim White, David Bowen, Tara Austin, James Brinsfield and Kathy McTavish. The images on this blog post are from David Bowen's project, "the other side". 

In the main gallery you will see several 23.5 x 23.5 inch pieces which appear to be some kind of sculpted surface, textured abstract monochromatic paintings, akin to topographic maps except all one color, in this case a mauve color. The material is actually a cut polyisocyanurate and the design is created via digital carving of the surface  The way the shadows shade the surface is interesting, but not really the full story.

"the other side (3-17-19)"

How the pieces were created, and where the name comes from, is told in a 2 minute video that is being projected in Gallery A. Essentially, the series is titled "the other side" because the process involves satellite photos taken on the other side of the world. A section of the aerial image is selected, and the 3-D image is computer generated by means of the computer which then feeds this information into a piece of equipment that carves the identical topography into these squares. 

Each is from the same location on the other side of the world, and different only because the images are taken on different days. The primary variation comes from the cloud formations there.

Interestingly enough, even before seeing the video I somehow imagined that the surfaces were topographical. My guess was that they were lake bottoms, designed by means of sonar. So my instinct were not that far off. 

A Warm Reset will run from March 26 thru June 26. On April 10 there will be an artist talk featuring Liz James, Tara Austin and Time White, and a second artist talk on May 22. The gallery is located at 23 West 1st Street here in Duluth.

* * * 

A brief story in pictures about "the other side"

To learn more about exhibitions, represented artists and gallery hours

visit the Joseph Nease Gallery website at

http://www.josephneasegallery.com/

Local Art Seen: count map pulse breathe --- Kathy McTavish at the JNG

"Code is a literature ::: a pattern language ::: a score. It is a choreography ::: a performance. A code renderer is the weaver ::: the mill ::: the alchemist ::: the wizard. Code is a spell ::: an incantation ::: an intent. When code is performed it is an activation of text ::: a linguistic gymnastics." 
--Kathy McTavish, Chance (2017)


The latest iteration of Kathy McTavish's computer code-generated art is now on display at Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth. As her work evolves we see a transformation taking place, building on previous experience and adding new dimensions.

Computer code is the basic language of her art. Previously the "product" was displayed on monitors and projected on surfaces. More recently she has been utilizing her sister Karen McTavish's high-tech quilting machinery to produce what she calls "soft code drawings."

Sixteen textile works have been hung in the gallery. The threadwork on the quilted textiles is generated by computer code that McTavish has conceived. The machine responds to the code to create thread patterns.

Seemingly random irregular features have been added to this series of textiles, which I personally feel adds interest to the pieces. I find myself looking for more stories within the imagery and asking questions, which amplifies my desire to engage each piece.

In addition to the textiles, the exhibit space includes 16 Acer computers which were used to create the digital imagery - either on their screens, on the textile pieces, or in the form of a set of unique artists books.

Joseph Nease Gallery -- Spacious 

Gallery owner Joe Nease told me, with an amused expression, that the 16 computers are workers. Or rather, 15 are workers and, pointing to one set around the corner on a desk, "This one is the supervisor." He showed me one other computer in the hallway and said that that "worker" was on a smoking break.

This new body of work is an extension of concepts that McTavish has been crafting and fine tuning for several years now. It's conceptually stimulating and it will be interesting to see where it all leads in the years ahead.

Joe Nease, showing the scale of each piece.

Related Links
Kathy McTavish's Chance Unfolds at the Tweed
Local Art Seen: Kathy McTavish's Generative Textile Drawings @ the Joseph Nease Gallery
Kathy McTavish . count map pulse breathe

Local Art Seen: Eric Sall @ Joseph Nease Gallery

"Citrus Twist"--84"x 60"

Fans of large abstract designs and color will enjoy the new exhibition at Joseph Nease Gallery titled Affinities. The show features work by Rachel Hayes and Eric Sall. Sall is a painter and Hayes a nationally recognized artist who works in fabrics and tapestry.

As with many of the other shows featured at the JNG, Joe & Karen Nease continue to draw upon their well of connections from their Kansas City gallery. Both Hayes and Sall received their MFAs from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA

The paintings featured here are all by Eric Sall. Tomorrow I will share Ms. Hayes' work.

Eric Sall was born and raised in South Dakota, and started oil painting when he was 15. Living in a tiny mountain town in the Black Hills he found solace in the culture of skateboarding and snowboarding which still resonates in his graphic paintings today. He moved to Kansas City when he was 18 to attend the Kansas City Art Institute, and felt as if he moved to the 'big city.

"So Close and Yet So Far"--84"x 60"

Compared to some of the Black Hills communities, KC really is a big city.  When our family did a ten day vacation in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota, I was struck by the numerous small towns within the network of hills. In the Western tip of the Badlands there was a small outpost of cabins and homes with a population of 15. I used to imagine that if I ever wanted to run away from it all, that might be where you'd find me.

Sall's work is energetic and vibrant. Some canvases are 12 feet across, so the effect is quite striking.

"Deluge 3"--60"x 72"

"Temperature Control"--48"x 36"

"Blind Spot"--16"x 20"

"Strange Mirage"--16"x 20"

"Moontides"--16"x 20"

In the back of the gallery you will find a video playing in which Eric Sall shows how he produces his work. For students of art and artists alike these streaming stories can be instructive.

I will be sharing Rachel Hayes' work sometime in the next few days.
Sall and Hayes currently reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
To see more of their work, visit their websites.
http://www.ericsall.com/about
http://www.rachelbhayes.com/

For Gallery Hours or to see work by other represented artists visit http://www.josephneasegallery.com/

Local Art Seen: Heidi Pollard at the JNG

Detail from larger piece. 

The small backroom space at Joseph Nease Gallery features Heidi Pollard's Heaven and Other Realms.

The press release describes her work in this manner:
Heidi Pollard's work approaches the dichotomies of daily life – the contradictory beliefs, feelings, and experiences we all hold in tension – with a sense of wonder and beauty. Employing her impressions and memories, she makes the unfathomable tangible in her drawings, paintings, and sculpture. Full of symbol and metaphor, her work reaches beyond her own experiences and thoughts to become something new and nameless, a mirror for the viewer.

Here is a link to the full press announcement and a link to her persona website.

Every picture has a story behind it. Here are some images you will find.

OF NOTE

Friday is will be your last chance to see Matthew Kluber's exhibition in the primary gallery space. The Kluber show, which has been up since spring, features a number of mesmerizing optical projections that remind me of some of Kathy McTavish's work. (cf. Chance)

Friday I'm In Love. This is an eight-foot wide projection.

NOW FOR SOMETHING REALLY INTERESTING

Kluber's projection pieces make a great setting to take some original selfies. 

This photo is a work of fiction.

IF YOU GO

Take some Selfies.

* * * * 

NEXT MONDAY
@ the Zeitgeist Atrium:

Local Art Seen: Sirpa Särkijärvi's Transcriptions Comes Down Today

Last night the Downtown Duluth Art Walk had a number of things happening. I made it to a few, including one last visit to Sirpa Särkijärvi's exhibition at Joseph Nease Gallery. Särkijärvi is a Finnish painter whose striking images offer a visual smorgasbord of freedom within form. Her painterliness is inspirational and served as a prod to get back in the studio.

A new feature of the gallery, now in its third year, is a small reading room with comfortable chairs and a growing collection of art books. Each artist who has been featured at JNG is being asked to suggest three books which the gallery will purchase and add to their library. The gallery is already a quiet space to get away. This added inspirational accompaniment will benefit all who take advantage of it. (The Tweed has a great library of art books as well, far more comprehensive, but less convenient for a lunch hour getaway--unless you work on campus.)

Here are photos I took last night in order to share here in the event you failed to get downtown for this show.

* * * *

* * * *

detail from another piece.

* * * *

* * * *

* * * * 

* * * *

detail from the above

* * * *

What art books would you recommend?

* * * *

A nice little getaway where you can make yourself at home.

* * * *

For more information on Sirpa Särkijärvi, visit the artist’s website sirpasarkijarvi.com.

For more information on Joseph Nease Gallery, visit josephneasegallery.com.