Melanie Pankau's "Thresholds" is part of her exhibit in the 做厙輦⑹ G. Murphy East Gallery
The 做厙輦⑹ G. Murphy Gallery at St. 做厙輦⑹ proudly opens its fall exhibition season with two shows by artists who explore the theme of creative process through abstract painting.
Chicago artist Caroline Kent is known for dynamic acrylic compositions that reveal an intuitive mark-making process. The K獺rm獺n Line, named after engineer and physicist Theodore von K獺rm獺n, commonly represents the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. This reference to the crossing of territories relates specifically to the artists wall-sized paintings that, due to their scale as well as their scumbled, black backgrounds and their installation within narrow, niche-like walls, creates an alternate viewing space that invites physical, spatial and emotional interaction. Kent posits abstract painting as a site that can be enacted upon, and this exhibition explores a diverse art practice engaging that site through text, the body and performance. Kent is St. 做厙輦⑹'s 2018 Amy Marie Sears Visiting Artist.
Melanie Pankau, a Minneapolis artist, makes pristine, geometric abstractions reflecting the role of meditation in her painting practice. Her small, acrylic on panel paintings invite intimate viewing and reveal the artists methodical hand. About her work, the artist writes: I am interested in visualizing a contemplative consciousness and producing work that is laborious embodying a deep, latent or durational sense of time. In addition to her paintings, the artist will exhibit compositional drawings, color studies, palette records and other relics of the studio, giving viewers insight to her creative process.
These exhibitions are presented as part of a larger collaboration between Augsburg University, Bethel University, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and St. 做厙輦⑹ in conjunction with the publication of Kenneth Steinbach's book, Creative Practices for Visual Artists (Routledge, 2018).
The artists will be present at the opening reception for both shows on Saturday, September 8, 4-6 p.m. Both shows will be available through October 20, 2018. All events are free and open to the public.