Julie VonDerVellen “Foot in the door” – made out of the artist’s resume
I am writing this as I am gallery sitting on a cold, grey, rainy Easter Sunday. I agreed to this job so that the regular staff could celebrate Easter with their families, with the promise of a chocolate bunny. I never had one and have always been curious, especially about what is inside.
I have entered the Art on Paper exhibition many times and my work was accepted in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, I was awarded an Honorable Mention.
Before I started writing blog posts for Bmoreart, covering the MFA nationally juried shows, I asked Cara how I should handle it when I am writing about a show that my work is in. Her reply was simple; include a disclaimer. This is the first time this has occurred, and you can let me know how it works out.
Overall, the work is of high quality, with diverse techniques and imagery. There are many graphic, black and white etchings, photos, some oil paintings on paper and an exquisite paper shoe.
The image I noticed the first time I came in the gallery after the show was installed was Tonia Matthews’ “Blue for You.” It is a large intaglio with hand-colouring, mostly black and white with large loops in a tunnel formation, protecting a see-saw on top of a house.
Lee Goodwin’s digital photo “Dorchester County, April Evening” shows us an expansive sky and foreground with a stand of trees in the middle that is so small in scale that they could be tiny weeds.
The most humourous image in the show is Chris Mona’s lithograph “Lilly Tomlin on Mars.” He will have some explaining to do at the opening to decipher his vision.
An aquatint etching by William Salzillo; “Scout” depicts a young boy standing next to a docked canoe, nearly camouflaged by the same etched cross hatchings that render the trees and water, so that he is no more significant than the landscape.
At first glance, you would expect the car in the digital print “Red Car” by Jenny Joe Casey to be wrecked. It sits on a treetop, no road in sight and is filled with coloured swirls of activity. Is the car more fertile than the ground?
Now to describe my collage “Water in the Water Line” (selected as the image for the postcard invitation to this exhibition). It is a tribute/memorial to Hurricane Sandy. Even though I was not in New York City when the hurricane struck, filling subway tunnels with water, it is a personal image of my childhood memory of being in the subway. Knowing we were under water, I wondered what would happen if there was a hole in the tunnel wall and water could seep in. So, I created that image. Maybe Mayor Bloomberg will buy it.
Hanging below my collage is a large, digital print taken from an unusual perspective. “Pad and Paper” by Mark Wlaz shows us a mother and child seated on a large couch. Our point of view is directly above them. We see the child looking at images on an ipad while the mother is reading the newspaper. The newspaper tells us about a memorial to the 2012 Sikh temple shooting. It makes sense to me that this photo hangs next to mine, as they are both memorials.
“Slides from the Balance Series” by Beth Blake is a small oil painting on paper of a young, clothed woman, standing shoulder high in water. She is holding books behind her, fanning the pages to reveal something. Images of photo slides are superimposed on the painting.
The award for Best Use of Materials goes to Jessi Cooke. Her entry “Discourse” is a black coloured papercut of repeat patterns of male heads in the shape of a world map placed on top of text hand-written in black ink on yellowed paper. Burlap surrounds these layers and the black wooden frame is so dented it appears to be a carved artifact.
A large piece attracts attention when one enters the gallery. “Rembering Ghosts” by Julie Gilberg covers a window to allow light to permeate the gossamer layers of hand made paper, embellished with intaglio, lithography and embroidery to render an image of a woman and her ghost on in inner layer.
“Liminal Tayk” by Karla Hackenmiller is an warm-brown coloured etching with very fine details of tree trunk shapes with a geometric background.
The old meets the new in Joseph Henry Moniz’s “Cassy in Kimono”. His mixed media drawing of a young woman in a kimono. Is she playing dress up? She is dressed traditionally but her eyeglasses let us know this is not authentic.
I wish all participating artists could come to Annapolis to see the work in the show. As we know, the jpegs don’t do them justice.
Author Anna Fine Foer is an Annapolis-based Visual Artist. View her work here http://www.annafineart.com.
36th Annual Art on Paper 2013
Juror: Katherine Blood, Library of Congress, Curator of Fine Prints
Circle Gallery, Maryland Federation of Art
29 March – 28 April
Opening Reception Sunday 7 April 3-6 pm
