San Antonio Painters II

San Antonio Painters II

Sep 6–Nov 17, 2012

September 6 – November 17, 2012
Main Gallery

Featuring Jason Willome, Corbin Spring, Chrys Grummert, Chris Sauter, Cornelia White Swann, Bryson Brooks, Ana Fernandez, and Megan Harrison

Contemporary at Blue Star is pleased to present San Antonio Painters II, an exhibition juried and curated by Barbara MacAdam, Deputy Editor of ARTnews magazine. This exhibition opens with a reception at Blue Star from 6 – 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 6, 2012 and runs until November 17, 2012.

Jason Willome:

“My work emerges from a fascination with our experience of the artifice and cogency of images, and taps art history, popular culture and my own personal encounters, for moments where this intersection attenuates our categories of belief. This friction between the mental and physical aspects of an image, which I often discover through a sculptural synthesis of image and material, is a realm of continual interest to me, and is at the heart of all of my work.”

Corbin Spring:

“My work combines natural and manmade materials to create the illusion of space by the use of contrasting and complimentary colors and nature’s natural patterns. My color combinations are influenced by Op art, graffiti art, and color theory. The images and materials I use create a dialogue between the high and low levels of society. The work is intended to pose questions and create narratives that address current social and political issues. The combination of bright palettes inspired by street art, images, and natural wood grain patterns create a visual relationship between color, movement, and natures designs.”

Chrys Grummert:

“This body of work comes from my interest in abstraction, and explores the notion of “pure” that is often connected with the genre. For me, the geometric hard-edged, finish-fetish style of abstraction is a good example of this reductive exclusionary theory. Similarly, the concept of nature as “pure” and “truthful”, as it is taught to us, is fraught with problems as well. So to pollute the “purity” of these concepts, I deliberately include outside references such as, the photo editing programs the sketches were made on, cartoon backgrounds, decorator color ways, sci-fi/fantasy and faded southwestern posters (like ones you will find in fast food restaurants on long road trips across the south), just to name a few.”

“The work seeks to embrace contradictions in issues of the “real” and the “fake”, the high and low, having the flat-footed geometric abstraction fraying at the edges and ultimately have the viewer delighting in the process. ”

Chris Sauter:

“Through the juxtaposition of disparate materials and images, extreme scale shifts, and the transformation of common objects into other recognizable objects my work explores the links between nature and culture, the present and the primordial, the personal and the universal. ”

Cornelia White Swann:

“My work includes a series of paintings on paper. Within these works I explore ideas of dissonance, harmony, convergences and the nuances that lie in between. I’m interested in the dialogues that can occur when two disparate forms exist in the same environment. This curiosity evolved with my observations of the urban landscape; the strong architectural lines of a building existing with the organic forms of clouds passing behind it or the desire paths left by pedestrians seeking the route of least resistance. I’m inspired by psychogeographic theories, the power of color and the poetics of time and space.”

Bryson Brooks:

“My two selected pieces for the San Antonio Painters II exhibit show the diversity and polarity of approaches I have to my work. “The Fragrance of Flowers” was created through imaginative memory and rooted in the Abstract Expressionist tradition.  My “Twin Reverb” painting is object oriented and implements the use of silkscreen, stylistically referencing the Pop Art tradition. The two paintings are separate entities working together, complimenting while contrasting one another, resulting in a dialogue about the creative process. Working within different styles allows me to reach broader audiences while exploring issues of pattern, repetition, color palette, and visual harmony.”

Ana Fernandez:

“The content of my series contains some of my favorite subjects: magic, true crime, paranormal activity, love, murder, mythology, witchcraft and superstition all set in the neighborhoods of my hometown.

I combine familiar domestic elements with subtle, sometimes eerie, hints of the unknown. I would describe it as naturalistic and realistic with elements of the fantastic or supernatural.”

Megan Harrison: