OVERLAP
December 7th - February 17th (2018)
Opening night of Overlap.
“Fantasy and reality often overlap.”
- Walt Disney
Featuring: Anthony Boone, Andrea Burgay, Leandro Comrie, Jonathan Joubert, Amaia Marzabal, Walter John Rodriguez, Fabricio Suarez
"Overlap" establishes a subtle harmony between the abstract and figurative bringing together seven artists from the tristate area who share much in common despite differences in style. These artists agree on portraying work that represents an unexpected approach to art-making. Diversity is not an obstacle for them in developing a similar philosophy where fantasy and reality can coexist. Recognizing this dichotomy will be as significant to the visual experience as the individual talent of each artist. It is also easy to credit the work with an intense freshness since all pieces in this show were completed within the last year.
A consistent pulse of visceral force is palpable throughout. In this show you can find expressive brush strokes, wild use of line and color, and even a mystical quality to textured surfaces. Disney’s words exemplify the character of the exhibit well. Not only will the viewer find overlap with clear mastery of technique among these artists but also with relevant concepts. From the familiar to the unimagined, “Overlap” will introduce you to an exciting new group of local artists who operate outside expected norms.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Anthony Boone
“My artwork… is deeply rooted in expressing my love for engaging with and creating beautiful and powerful pieces. I create pieces in the spirit of free movement and energy. Often using scrapers, spoons, rocks, and wood stains, I paint open to not only, occurring and re-occurring emotions, but also the set of the canvas and the flowing of paint. In this way, I invite aspects of materials and life to show and share their journeys.”
As a 25 year freight train conductor, Boone knows a little bit about the importance of staying the course, being observant, and allowing the path and scenery to reveal itself. That exposure has influenced his approach to creating art. From experience, a conductor knows that both internal and external factors will affect each and every run of his career. And so it is with art... presenting a new perspective to a new, yet familiar, clean canvas…
Please click here to learn more about Anthony Boone.
Andrea Burgay
“Hybrid works that combine collage and sculpture to elevate the overlooked and mundane through the transformation of discarded and found materials. In the process of creation, the perceived emotional energy of the original object serves as a guiding force in the creation of something new. Organizing chaos and unifying fragments, the works contain elements that exist both separately, and as part of a larger whole. Domestic, religious and ritual aesthetics are referenced and conflated to reinforce a lack of hierarchy between these spheres, unifying the everyday with the spiritual and entreating the viewer to reconsider the space between the two.”
Please click here to learn more about Andrea Burgay.
Leandro Comrie
“My subject matter is broad, inclusive, and unapologetic. I paint about heartbreak, love, death, friendship, lust, kindness, all mixed-in and coexisting in the midst of my paintings. Culture identity, sexuality, class and spirituality have also found a space in my subject matter.
The human body serves as a metaphor to denote aspects of the human condition. Enlarging or minimizing hands, feet and fingers are metaphors to judgment or self-edification; teeth become a symbol of love or fear. Penises become a sign of violence or lust and vulvas an ode to life. Mask-like faces are a symbolism for hypocrisy, or belittlement.
My work is both simple and complex. Within that simplicity there are layers of complexity that aim to engage the viewer in an honest dialogue to find a sense of redemption and higher consciousness.”
Please click here to learn more about Leandro Comrie.
Jonathan Joubert
“My work is a reflection of my experience with inner conflicts of spirituality, sexuality, and identity. Using the body as a symbol or metaphor for the condition of the human character. The use of reiterative marks on masks point to hypocrisy, self-protection, and ambiguity.”
Please click here to learn more about Jonathan Joubert.
Amaia Marzabal
“My practice investigates decorative patterns, abstractions and figures. Through painting and printinng I reinterpret these inherited patterns through investigations of color, surface and formal languages/rituals of painting.
In addition, my practice is concerned with human relationships, social rules, emotions and my own personal development.
I am interested in using patterns and human figures to develop my own artistic language about the process of personal self-discovery. These patterns (and sometimes abstractions) will be used to metaphorically represent inherited behavioral and personality traits….”
Please click here to learn more about Amaia Marzabal.
Walter John Rodriguez
“Most of his drawings were responses to moments of inspiration when the urge to draw took hold with spiritual presence. In some, the human figure is featured as going through some experience of profound change. In others, the portrait becomes the tool to project a universal and majestic sense of humanity where faces seem simultaneously in a state of divine grace and vulnerability.
Moreover, the painted works in this exhibit are anamorphic compositions that invoke world culture and ancient roots through human anatomy, cartoons and animal features developing a narrative that can synthesize provocative ideas about how we place the ancient side of ourselves against the world today. These works fuse pop culture icons and known works of classical painting creating layers of meaning where our collective knowledge is the subject matter.”
Please click here to learn more about Walter John Rodriguez.
Fabricio Suarez
“Wild and inconsiderate brushstrokes never tell me where they're going.”
Fabricio Suarez is an artist from Uruguay working in NY/NJ area. He received his BFA in Fine Arts and illustration from the School of Visual Arts & was a recipient of the David Rhodes, President Scholarship. Out of school, he worked as an illustrator, publishing many childrens’ books with Educational Pubishing. He has been a part of numerous group shows in NJ, NY & LA and has done residencies with ESKFF at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City and Artists Off-the- Grid, in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado.
His current studio practice, a sort of Abstract Baroque, consist of moody surrealist paintings. Where abstract brushstrokes acting as “characters” form a narrative in the landscape. He still goes out weekly and paints on location, focusing on the urban landscape; he has also traveled around the U.S, Europe & South America painting a great variety of landscapes.
Suarez’s current studio is at home in Jersey City, where he lives with his wife and son.
Please click here to learn more about Fabricio Suarez.