Ruth Bachofner Gallery is pleased to present Between States, an exhibition of new work by local artist Virginia Katz. There will be a reception for the artist on Saturday, June 8, 5-7 PM.
This exhibition is the second half of a two-part exhibition, in which Virginia Katz continues her exploration into the symbiotic relationship between her artistic practice and the environment. Various modes of accumulation play a key role in her work, whether tracking patterns in nature, collecting data based on human behavior, or amassing materials in her surroundings. Each series presents a new interpretation of her findings, usually with a focus on a human / nature interface.
An ongoing inspiration in Katz’s work have been topographic maps, which have taken numerous forms throughout her career. Tracing Places - 8 Years, shown in April, represented the culmination of eight years-worth of amassing various paper-based items. Each object was cut into two-centimeter square pieces, attached to 22" x 30" sheets of paper, and arranged into an 11 foot, map-like installation. Between States, the second installment, incorporates a similar focus on topography through accumulation.
Between States contains three and two-dimensional works, both of which reference satellite imagery, but speak to our experience in our surroundings. She uses the distant images of Earth as a springboard for works on paper, which combine painting, printmaking, debossing and the artist's own drawing and mixed media techniques. The three dimensional works use acrylic paint as a sculptural medium. The paint serves as a base and is then formed into painterly mounds depicting polar ice caps and water formations.
“The flatness of the drawings and the physical nature of paint,” Katz states, “parallel our view of earth from satellite imagery, which appears flat, as the thick acrylic paintings parallel our personal, tangible, experiences of our surroundings. Traversing that in-between state of both scenarios: satellite viewing and our physical experience, there lie, at their least, perceptions of three-dimensional space...Scale and proportion are the physical and visual tools I use to convey the power, immensity, and mystery of the environment."
Virginia Katz's works bridge artistic process with awareness, bringing into focus concerns associated with the environment. As the work addresses issues of consumption, global warming, and our place within these matters, the abstractions also open windows into the hermetic realm of art-making and the innumerable possibilities of the artist's medium.
For additional information visit the Ruth Bachofner Gallery website.