In November four distinct artists brought us beauty, wit and style with the opening of “Becoming” at ODETTA Gallery. Taking an off-beat approach to portraiture and illustrating their subjects’ personalities rather than straightforward likenesses; in doing so, they brought us face-to-face with forms unrecognizable; barely human.
Igniting historical abstractions and combining surreal revelations, Deborah Brown encourages the viewer to rethink her work’s meaning as they look back at history through its telescope. Hear from Deborah Brown and fellow artists Gregory Curry, Mary Dwyer, Alice Momm on Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 pm during a special artist talk around this exhibition.
Gregory Curry postulates a post-human environment.
Curry explores the possibilities that painting offers for image invention by reassembling the fragmented body as it emerges in new forms and spaces.”
Mary Dwyer blends historic lore with her love of primitive portraiture.
Dwyer blends the American Folk Art tradition with an abstract modernist aesthetic. The inspiration of her work revolves around historic lore and a love of primitive portraiture paintings.”
Alice Momm breathes a new sort of existence into the country.
Momm longs for the country – bark, leaves and scraps are her materials of choice. She is drawn to their fragility and to the challenges of finding beauty or a voice in each picked-up thing. That the bark has been shed, the leaves have fallen, only makes her more determined to breathe a new sort of existence into the quiet remains.”
Deborah Brown depicts costumes, coiffures and conventions of self-presentation.
Brown aims to reposition iconic images in a contemporary context, encouraging the viewer to rethink their meaning as we look back through the telescope of history.”
“Becoming” opened on November 14th at ODETTA Gallery, 229 Cook Street, and runs through January 4, 2015.
