A new group exhibit opens this Tuesday at TAG Gallery in Santa Monica that will run through April 19 featuring artists Christo Brock, Elsie Dye Sims, and Kamil Vojnar. An opening reception will follow next Saturday, March 29 from 5-8 pm.
Brock’s latest body of photography continues to explore detail in everyday settings.
Elegant compositions emerge from macroscopic studies of both manmade and natural landscapes, and the everyday is rendered sublime through subtle use of color and digital paint.
Brock zeros in on both color and form to create abstract images separate from his subjects’ original identities.
From the languid bend of octopus tentacles to rusted industrial pipes, Brock uses a simple visual vocabulary of color, line, and shape to confront viewers on a visceral level.
“I’m drawn to images on an intuitive and emotional level,” Brock said. “I trust this reaction to inform what to capture, and, at times, enhance.”
Brock adds another dimension to his work by printing his images on metal – further enhancing the bold color and luminosity within his photographs to physically reflect light.
The intersection of man and nature is a recurring motif for Brock, as his images depict how the two environments both collide and intermingle in the 21st century.
Meanwhile, nature’s cycle is at the root of artist Elsie Dye Sims’ detailed woodcut designs. The rhythmic ebb and flow of ocean waves, wind-blown flora and fauna are translated into powerful lines and gestural strokes as Sims’ coastal environments take on a bold sense of character.
“My attention is drawn to the things in nature and our coast that exemplify the beauty that is found in the process of change,” Sims said. “The refinement and energy that occurs in the midst of wind and weather, the signs of time and transformation, are most compelling to me.” Unlike traditional black and white woodcut techniques, Sims individualizes each of her expressive compositions with color after printing the woodcuts. Her current series of such a large-scale medium convey the energy of the outdoors with a keen attention to the natural nuances of color and texture of the west coast.
Rounding out the trio of artists is Kamil Vojnar.
Ethereal figures inhabit the transcendental environments of artist Vojnar’s latest exhibition, “Elsewhere.”
Like the fringes of a dream, the artist strips his images of any identifiable time or place, while also providing a sense of emotional familiarity.
Religious iconography, flower petals, mechanisms of flight and wings resurface in Vojnar’s current work.
“Sometimes there are wings. But those who carry them, they are no angels,” Vojnar said. “They just want to be free. (A) pair of wings is like a passport to get away.”
Vojnar’s compositions begin with digitally layered photographs printed on various thin, Japanese papers which are then adhered to canvas or wood. Other images stand alone, printed on heavy art paper.
Droplets of wax and oil paint add a tangible dimension to the artist’s photography while simultaneously emphasizing nuances of color and shadow.
Vojnar’s subjects evoke an equal sense of mystery and spiritual contemplation in a modern era of uncertainties.
An artist talk is scheduled for Saturday, April 12 at 3 pm.
TAG Gallery is located at 2525 Michigan Avenue, D3 (Bergamot Station), Santa Monica.
The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm and Sundays from 12 pm to 4 pm.
For more information, call 310.829.9556 or visit www.taggallery.net.
