Artists from the
armored, wrapped, & plugged-in
exhibit STATEMENT About his work, Mr. Rockwood states, "The vision I attempt to create through painting arises from the endless resources that are created in my imagination. There are no limits to what can be imagined. Bringing my thoughts and ideas to fruition is where I am challenged as an artist. My paintings are composed of many different mediums, including canvas, acrylic paint, hot wax, wet cement, plaster, sculptured shapes, found objects and the space created between the combinations. Using embedded images, words and symbols, I attempt to evoke a reaction to the painting or theme of the painting. I am always examining the world around me for new ideas, unique natural colors and found objects that I can use to enhance my work. Through my relationship to the world I feel that I am able to create art that is complex and unique, yet still simple. Cory was born and raised in the San Francisco bay area. He has lived in Los Angeles and Dallas. After receiving an undergraduate degree from San Jose State University in 1986, Cory attended culinary school in California. He has worked as a chef in many different restaurants in Northern California. He started painting while in chef school and his painting and other art endeavors have followed him throughout his life. He relocated to Western Pennsylvania in 1996. In the Pittsburgh area, Cory developed his art through art study and affiliations with other local artists. He has also enlisted new techniques in welding, metal fabrication; statuary casting and silk-screening to his large “grandfather” clocks and tall floor lamps. His artwork has been displayed in several solo and group shows, and he is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Artists, the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and Group A. His newest works utilize canvas and other fabric coated in layers of cement and encaustic paint. He uses these techniques to form the canvas into a complex design of shapes and colors. What is created is a painting with three-dimensional qualities and multimedia aspects that allow the work to transcend the parameters of the canvas. If you look hard enough you can find a metaphor for anything… even the most mundane objects. Perhaps this is really the nature of my work: to transform the ordinary into something that resonates on a more profound level. This series of “Outlets” is no different. My goal was to transform these worthless discarded objects into something that is seemingly sacred. Their old lives of conducting electricity are gone and now they are reborn as conveyors of ideas. The utilitarian functions of the past have been stripped away, and all that is left are their symbols. To me, electrical outlets can be seen as little doorways to a strange intangible land. They connects us to a mysterious realm… necessary, invisible and potentially dangerous; a vehicle that reaches into the unknown with the intention of bringing back some wonder for the world to behold. The work of artist Michael deMeng is about transformation – the common into the sacred. His assemblages are metaphors for the evolutions of existence: from life to death to rebirth, construction to destruction to reconstruction, an examination of the world in perpetual flux, where meaning and function are ever-changing. deMeng’s work can be seen in galleries across the country and he teaches his process in workshops worldwide. His recent book, “Secrets of Rusty Things”, explores his process and philosophies and is published by Northlight Books. deMeng resides in Missoula, Montana. Armor, physical or emotional, is meant to protect. It is also a way to appear powerful, even to intimidate. While armor is usually thought of as a male accoutrement, I enjoy the ironies of feminine armor — often coy, sometimes whimsical, empowering by enticing. We arm ourselves when we dress, use make-up, color our hair. The armor here is rarely threatening and reveals more than it protects. Made from traditionally tough, domestic porcelain, these fragile pit-fired pieces are illusions of invulnerability.Nancy McNary Smith has been a professional potter, working in porcelain and other clays, for more than 30 years. She has also devoted time to teaching, usually working with just a few students in her studio. Smith lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her work has appeared in shows at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Society for Contemporary Craft, and other galleries. She is represented in the Peat Marwick collection and in the collection of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Pennsylvania. |
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For More Information Contact: Ellen Chisdes Neuberg, Owner/Director GalleriE CHIZ 5831 Ellsworth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15232 Tel: 412-441-6005 FAX: 412-661-5662 Internet: galchiz@hotmail.com |
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