Julia Barello – glance
Pascal – Perception     Oct 2 - Nov 7, 2009

Julia Barello is a Professor of Art at New Mexico State University, where she teaches Jewelry and Metalsmithing. Concurrent with teaching, Barello has maintained a productive career as a visual artist, working both within the fields of art jewelry and mainstream contemporary art. Her primary research has been based upon an examination of the body culturally and metaphorically, and Barello’s primary material is discarded medical imaging films. The material contains a range of subtle photographic information, including intimate details of the interior of human bodies. Barello cuts and organizes the film into patterns, shaping the film into leaves, birds, etc., which are then pinned to the wall in huge arrangements. She says “Obsession is my working method”. The results of her “obsessive process” are spectacular installations, which employ a visual complexity using intricate shapes, colors, layering and transparency that are breathtaking to view. The shadows that are created once the work is installed are a crucial part of the effect of the whole piece. Barello says her goal is “finding a dialog between excess and order, as well as individuality and anonymity”. Barello has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. She was recently awarded Best in Show, Alternative Media at the 2008 Southwest Biennial at the Albuquerque Museum. This is her second show at Zane Bennett.

Pascal, who is originally from France, settled in Santa Fe in 1997, and his career has blossomed in America. Prior to that time, he had gained a European reputation as a promising young sculptor, with a series of solo exhibitions in France and Switzerland. Pascal’s abstract sculptures are, as he says, “a sweet interrogation, rather than an affirmative message”. He is concerned with the probing nature of the artistic process. Pascal’s favorite medium is wood, particularly mahogany. “I think wood has memory”, he says, “because of its individuality, its smell, its temperature, its origin. This medium is strong, smart, full of character, unexpected - very feminine.” Pascal’s works are characterized by his masterful craftsmanship, a graceful balance, and a meticulous attention to detail. “Wood has its own intelligence”, he says. “It knows many things, and it teaches them to me. In this way, I understand what I want to do with it, so that the final image reflects its innate qualities as well as my own thoughts and feelings.” Since moving to Santa Fe, Pascal has been awarded several commissions for large-scale installations, and has exhibited his work nationally and internationally. He is also a bit of a local celebrity. Collectors have responded greatly to the simplicity of his approach, which balances geometric abstraction with organic form. This is Pascal’s debut show at Zane Bennett.