by Bruce Halpin
10/21/19
Cosmic Love, curated by Anne Trauben at Drawing Rooms, presents seven contemporary
artists' consideration of the spiritual as it applies to their work.
Spirituality is part of the artistic practice of nearly every culture. In fact,
in many cultures it is the only subject of their artistic activity and is
intrinsic to cultural production. Spirituality accompanies much of the
discourse of Modernism from the Suprematists through Duchamp, Barnett Newman
and beyond. The seven artists presented here each take a personal approach to the subject of the Spiritual.
Jill Scipione
Jill Scipione
In the case of Jill Scipione, whose work is hung throughout the
entrance hallway, as well as the entry gallery, the focus is on nature,
specifically trees, as a repository of the divine. The woven bands, which
comprise Ms. Scipione’s installation, had been previously tied around the trunks
of trees which are slated to be cut down in Bayonne’s Morris Park. Ms.
Scipione intends her work to serve both as elegy and a call to action to stop
such unconsidered and unnecessary destruction of these quiet souls. It also
serves as a rebuke to wanton and rapacious urban development.
Sky Kim
Sky Kim’s complex and painstakingly executed watercolors reflect the meditative
state in which they were created and are intended to promote a similar state in
the viewer. They are beautiful in a profound way-their effect is part enchantment
and part encounter with the sublime. They suggest a cosmos which serves to draw
the viewer into a deep reflection on time and being.
Bill Stamos
Like Ms. Kim, Bill Stamos’ investigation of the sublime is intended to impart a
meditative state. It is, however, created spontaneously with a large degree of
improvisation. Stamos’ keen sense of color and light is at the service of a
transcendent beauty contained entirely in his work; his shamanistic approach to
mark-making creates a coherent chaos.
Mollie Thonneson
Mollie
Thonneson’s “Poseidon Adventure” creates a submerged world of contemplation.
Her installation, consisting of sewn together recycled lingerie and fabric
remnants, is intended as an extended consideration of feminine sexuality.
Through the formal exercise of color, design, and pattern, Ms. Thonneson imparts
a sense of playfulness when combined with her titles, lending her work a subtle
ironic humor.
Maggie Ens
Maggie
Ens’ large construct takes up an entire wall in gallery two and dominates the
room. Detritus of post-industrial production is both medium and subject and is both an indictment of such, as well as a somewhat playful commentary.
The installation threatens to overwhelm the viewer, but the humor displayed in
her choice of components keeps it from being oppressive. A video opposite the
installation shows the artist in the act of creating a similar installation.
James Pustorino
James Pustorino’s drawing appears to be a diagram of some chaotic process which is on the
quantum or cosmic scale. Mr. Pustorino’s title “Invisible Eye Overseeing the
Sea” gives no clue to its subject and demonstrates a non-rational approach to
mark-making. It’s like some Mad Professor’s drawing intended to explain the
inexplicable, inviting the viewer down a, particularly colorful rabbit hole.
Anne Trauben
Anne Trauben
This
brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation to the work of Anne Trauben in
gallery one. Composed of ceramic, paper and lights, her installation suggests a
cosmos perhaps in the process of formation. Although presented as an
installation, the artist intends each element as a discreet
work and agreeable to any and all permutations. Ms. Trauben's work combines
dynamism with an undeniable delicacy, thus instilling the viewer with a sense
of awe combined with whimsey. In this work, the viewer's internal reality
becomes interchangeable with external reality, a concept central to alchemy, as
well as many other mystical traditions.
Cosmic
Love continues through October 11 at Drawing Rooms 926 Newark Avenue Jersey
City. The exhibit features drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and fiber art by artists Anne Trauben, Bill Stamos, James Pustorino, Jill Scipione, Maggie Ens, Mollie Thonneson and Sky Kim. Cosmic Love is curated by Anne Trauben.
Bruce Halpin is an artist living in Jersey City. Read Bruce's bio here and view his artwork here.
