“THE HEAT IS ON”
July 21- August 18, 2015
Reception Thursday July 23rd, 6-8pm
Angelique Anderson * Phyllis Featherstone * Ron Moore * Vernita N’Cognita * Lauren Purje * Srividya Kannan Ramachandran * Toto Takamori
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present an exhibition of outstanding art by seven artists who are part of Viridian Artists’ Affiliate program. The show extends from July 21st to August 18th with a reception to meet the artists Thursday July 23rd, 6-8pm. “The Heat Is On” alludes to the often pressing circumstances of life, our drive to move forward, the need to do it now and hot topics. Art offers not only these artists solutions and ways of dealing with “the heat” of daily life, but the art itself gives us, the viewers, methods and means to cope with life’s surprises & pitfalls.
For Angelique Anderson Art is Zen. The artist states “since my early years, I have always escaped into my world of imagination where I make the rules. I find peace there…Inspiration comes from the world around me: environments, political issues, current events, travelling, movies, fantasy and science fiction. A significant influence has come from the computer. It has evolved the way I process and apply myself to making art. I experiment with photography, collaging, manipulating and distorting images digitally to portray illusion and surrealism. Combining 2D drawings and shapes with 3D models, I create layers and dimension. That technique is used in my portrait series, morphing realism with fantasy. The color palettes and vistas of the renaissance period mix well with my science fiction-type themes for backgrounds.”
Phyllis Featherstone sees oil painting and printmaking to be among her favorite experiences, though she also does photography as well. She loves working with the luster and vivid colors that oil paint offers. Her printmaking incorporates oil based inks and a lithographic process in which ink only sticks to the image and the rest is washed away by water, and then transferred to paper using a printing press. For her, photography is different in its immediacy, “a rewarding experience of the moment.” The artist goes on to say that “My subjects are usually narrative art in which I tell a story with a picture. The finale to my statement is that I love every aspect of what I do and that is why I do it.”
Ron Moore is a sculptor who was recently a part of viridian’s 45th anniversary show in which the gallery invited past & present viridian artists to celebrate the gallery’s longevity. In that exhibition, he showed life size figures in steel that resembled line drawings. He continues to work with steel in a variety of sculptural formats. The artist says, “This artwork is mainly about joyful escape’s. And inner yearnings that hope for the gift of discovery.”
Vernita N’Cognita’s “Dick Drawings” (or “All About Power”) “are a response to years of trying to understand where personal power comes from in our world. At almost every level of reality, the male reigns—politics, finance, business, military and even, in the art world. So what, I ask myself, gives men this power that women don’t have? Finally, I realize it must be the possession of a penis and the ability to produce testosterone. The penis is one of the unmentioned culprits behind the wrongs of our world. Along with the power of male reign, come violence, war, double-dealing and other far-ranging criminal activities. Men still have most of the power and so I’ve come to the conclusion that the secret source of that power must be in their dicks and I want to demystify the male power figure.”
Lauren Purje is an artist who loves to draw. Between her cartoons in Hyperallergic, an artworld publication on the web and her paintings with Turner inspired backgrounds, her art covers a lot of mental & emotional ground. In Hyperallergic, she humorously confesses her doubts & fears while simultaneously making insightful comments about being an artist in today’s world. Recently, birds- especially pigeons – have captured her attention, and the delicate drawings she makes of them give an elevated statue to a lowly creature urbanites often take for granted.
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran “These two photographs represent an abstract reflection on meditative experiences. In the photo titled “Greed” – the viewer is invited to introspect on which portion of the photo constitutes the background, and which one the foreground. The death-like passivity of the black stands juxtaposed against the volcanic agitation of the red offering a difficult choice to the viewer. “Finding Nemo” depicts the opening of the metaphorical third-eye that offers a human being a direct intuitive insight into the brighter world beyond.”
Toto Takamori is a Japanese artist who approaches the media of paint with excessiveness. In this case excessiveness is a good thing for his tiny 4×6 inch paintings have a thick impasto surface akin to the frosting on a delicious layer cake with sprinkles of sparkles. He says he has 3 factors that he considers in his artmaking – classification, contrast & most importantly perhaps his technique of painting called “wet on wet”.
Viridian’s Affiliate Program is an important aspect of the gallery’s mission to expand exhibition opportunities for outstanding contemporary artists, both emerging and well-known.
Gallery hours: Monday through Friday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
