Wednesday, July 6, 2011

CONTEM?ORARIES

  
Twenty Ten, ink on paper, 11 inches X 14 inches, 2010
CONTEM?ORARIES:
A Survey of 21st Century American Artists

July 14th - October 14th, 2011
Opening Reception: July 14th, 6-8pm

Address:
Fort Worth Central Library
500 W. Third St.
Fort Worth, TX 76102-7305

Quote from the exhibition catalog:

We live in an Age that is unparalleled. Our understanding of history, and what has come before, is enormous. This becomes clear when we look at Contemporary Art.

We have been painting and drawing for thousands of years. These were the methods of the cavemen, and they are still used by artists today. At some point, artists discovered that the use of a preliminary “sketch” drawing could help perfect form and composition in their paintings. This shows the very beginnings of how different artistic techniques inform each other. A more modern example is Photography, which is much younger, and has since its birth been influenced by painting. Today this kind of confluence works in all directions; and can be seen throughout the Art World: Artists using the oldest techniques, things like painting and drawing, being influenced and inspired by the newest disciplines like Photography and Cinema. We have artists inspired by Mathematics and Literature, drawing things that exist only in the imagination. We have photographers capturing the magic of the overlooked and the everyday. And of course we have artists who are inspired by the Age itself.

Dan Blagg, Pat Gabriel, Jane Hansen, Sam Ivie, Jill Johnson, Bruce Jordan, Nancy Lamb, Leslie Lanzotti, James Lassen, Nathan Madrid, Daniel Scott, Eric Stevens, Justine Stevens, Clint Stone, and Elaine Taylor were chosen for the CONTEM?ORARIES Show because of the breadth of techniques and influences their Works represent, and for the interesting juxtapositions to be found bringing them together.

Contemporary Art sets no limits upon itself, but rather learns from its varied incarnations. Just as Artists use any of the tools at their disposal, and influence each other with what they create, in their pursuit of Beauty.