Wednesday, December 24, 2008

12th exhibit: FUSION:: MIXED MEDIA SHOW juried by Elise Mannella

Exhibiiton Dates: September 14 - October 12, 2002
Potluck Reception: Saturday, September 21, 2002, 5-8pm

f e a t u r i n g 2 6 a r t i s t s

Sara JH Ashodian, Nahant
Terry Bastian, Lawrence
Jasmine Baxter, Dorchester
Christina Bechstein, Jamaica Plain
Elsa Campbell, East Boston
Christina Chang, Woburn
Eric Devlin, Everett
Jackie Ellis, Cambridge
Marie Gallager, Gloucester
Wendy Gonick, Arlington
Jake Johnston, Roxbury
Joanna L. Kao, Jamaica Plain
Kathy Kneeland, Boston
Emily Lamont, W. Newton
Heidi M. Marston, Jamaica Plain
Kazuyo Maruyama, Chestnut Hill
Sonia MedeiRos, Jamaica Plain
Sophia Mone, Belmont
Amber Morrison, Woonsocket
Heather Pilchard, Ipswich
Maryellen Sakura, Arlington
Elizabeth Sarney, Boston
Thomas Schorn, Malden
Lori Sturgill, Woonsocket
Sam Tan, Malden
Mark Tremblay, Wellfleet

(Malden, Massachusetts - - August 15, 2002) - - Visual artist Elise Mannella was invited to jury this mixed media art exhibition at artSPACE@16. The jurying process is done from 61 pieces of actual work submitted by 30 visual artists from all regions. All work demonstrated the inventive and creative uses of art materials and the ability and sensibility of individual artists to fuse the use of different materials with their inspirations into a single piece of artwork.

Juror, Elise Mannella stated, "The idea of FUSION implies a melding of different layers, styles, materials, and ideas into a new and different whole. A fusion can be explosive or it can be subtle. In terms of art making, it's not just about a piece being made from mixed media. There has to be another element involved-an exploration of nature, culture, religion/spirituality, the body-that is pushed in combination with something else. " In this exhibit Ms. Mannella has chosen 36 entries by 26 artists that reflect this concept.
In the work of Mark Tremblay, a weathered wooden box serves as the stage for a white plaster cast of an open hand resting on the bottom and hovering above is an ambiguous white abstract, multi-sided object that is evocative of another dimension or reality.

Cultural references like "Hair Kite," made of Chinese money envelopes shaped into puffy little balls of air with long black hair for tails, by Christina Chang, or Christina Bechstein's installation of wrapped bundles of brightly colored fabrics lined up in rows (reminiscent of paper prayers) address the fusion of cultural sensibilities.

A conceptual approach to a personal narrative is fused in "Walkin'" by Kathy Kneeland who recycles a square piece of painted wood and inserts nails or screws around its perimeter. Each nail or screw has a fortune cookie-sized message wrapped around it indicating a date and location where she took a walk.

Another type of fusion is the subtle (and sly) reference to male/female dynamics in "The Mating Game 1" by Sam Tan. Tan takes pornographic playing cards and obliterates them by painting over them and leaving only the barest suggest of a body part. Painted to resemble lined up dominoes, he leaves a dark black space with drips between two rows to suggest a void or perhaps the shadow aspects of male/female relationships.

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The Juror: Elise Mannella is an artist who has worked in a variety of media for the past 20 years, producing paintings, sculpture incorporating wood, plastic and found materials, and work on paper. Most recently she has been creating work on paper using a mix of photographic transfer and image making techniques. She has exhibited regionally and nationally. As part of the experience of being an artist she has curated exhibits, fundraised for visual arts programs, set-up artist-run spaces, served on boards and juries, and held day jobs that contributed to her understanding of the art world, its funding, organization, and place in our culture.