Spatial Articulation Revealing the true dimensions of their personal intentions in a fabulous collection of contemporary fine art, the panel of visual artists in this unique exhibition makes use of space and color, combined with a remarkable concern for detail and admirable aesthetic to produce artwork that is, in its diversity, deeply inspiring, eerily moving or spiritually comforting. Sublime perceptions of the universe, wondrous paradoxes of nature and of the human condition, powerful visions of phenomenal landscapes and gentle, figurative Cubism magically co-exist in an atmosphere of artistic excellence and elegance.
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Michael Berger

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Past field work in geology and geochemistry cultivated my appreciation for the vivid colors of stones, like red sandstone or dark blue vulcanite, and were crucial to my artistic development because they inspired my first investigations into color and mood. My geological background has flowed into my current work, with the intense colors I came across there finding new expression in the magnetic planetary bodies, stars and constellations which make up the universe I have created through my art. I developed the term 'Transformable ART' to describe my new technique, because a key feature of it is the combination of painting and sculpture to produce pieces of art which are not static, but may change their appearance by manual interaction. Thus the work exists in a constant state of creation, ever changing in its dimensions and arrangements, a reflection of the universe itself.
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"Organic 1"
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"Solys"
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Kazem Heydari

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Kazem Heydari’s paintings poignantly explore the interaction between limited human experiences and the limitless nature of space. Heydari captures the spontaneous, impassioned movement of the moment, empathizing with his figures’ psychological vulnerabilities and immortalizing them in crucial, emotive instances. Whether meditating, departing, gathering, or arguing, the figures in Heydari’s acrylic scenes all emit an intrinsic dignity.
The unimpeded horizons and the perspectival lines that define the space in each painting suggest an infinite openness, alluding to the intangible qualities of time and place. His figures move through abstracted rooms and landscapes of incalculable depth. While his ground is always solidly and decisively colored, Heydari’s figures remain uncolored, as if waiting to be shaped and tinted by the ungraspable, unseen auras of each environment they encounter.
Born in Tehran, Iran, Heydari studied Persian and Islamic painting with Master Ibhrahimi before moving to Germany in 1986. He has shown his work since 1989 and most recently exhibited at Art Cologne, at Mahe Mehr in Tehran, and at the Museum Kunst Palast in Düsseldorf.
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"The Marriage According to Nikolaj Gogol, 1st Act"
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"The Opera of Troja"
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Ana Laura Mena

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Mexican artist ANAMENA’s magical realism vacillates between wonder and fear. Her stylized paintings are often dominated by bold, monochromatic compositions featuring solitary figures, creating enigmatic scenes that are simultaneously magical and potentially terrifying, hanging somewhere between explicit and implicit meanings. ANAMENA shows a preference for economic natural subjects like plants and animals, whose uncanny simplicity imbues them with a threatening edge. Painstakingly rendered organic forms swoop elegantly, small animals sit plainly, engaging viewers’ gazes and imaginations.
Beyond ANAMENA’s scrupulous application and familiar subjects, secondary meanings lurk and pictorial harmony risks collapse. Cacti take on prickly, sensual connotations; quaint animals become uncanny omens; beautiful scenes appear on the verge of disaster. Exploring this sublime ledge between beauty and fear ANAMENA articulates visual puns, relishing double meanings attached to archetypal images. At what point, she seems to ask, do familiar symbols stop being attractive and become unnerving? In ANAMENA's works the two no longer seem exclusive: her figures cling to the ledge between the elegant and the unnerving.
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"Jonás y la Ballena"
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"Ying Estudio Para Maguey No. 22"
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Sandra Mueller-Dick

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Much of my work emanates from themes that are important to me, such as the figure and landscape. I start with something representational, which then evolves to become more abstract. 'Rays of Hope', for example, began with body parts, and developed into abstraction. My goal is always both to portray and evoke emotion, encouraging viewers to interpret what they see for themselves. I try to speak directly to the inner life of my audience, helping them to know and stay in touch with who they are, and to find that which can bring comfort and solace to their lives.
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"Landscapes of the Mind IV"
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"Lanscapes of the Mind V"
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Mufak Naoroz

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For Mufak Naoroz, a stretch of canvas is like a window through which we manifest our own world. Since our lives are made up of fragmented yet connected moments, it is no surprise that Naoroz takes a cubist approach to painting. The method reflects the fact that our world is becoming more abstracted in our quest for individualism. Naoroz uses a modern style, but the design has classic elements. Although each work is made up of multiple geometric shapes, they share lines and surfaces of colors that work to build a bigger picture. The paintings therefore are figurative, with the subject matter ranging from flamingoes and flowers to musicians and people at rest.
In the midst of a design style meant to replicate the hustle and bustle of contemporary living, these scenes reflect the more quiet moments of life: bathing, napping, relaxed conversation, and waiting for the train. The colors—deep and soothing, yet full of lush warm tones—further exude calmness. Naoroz was born in Iraq in 1960 and in 1988 moved to Norway, where his works have been exhibited in solo and collective exhibitions.
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"Flute and Violin"
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"Nap"
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Robert Ransom

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The subjects of Robert Ransom's paintings are enlivened both by the deadpan irony and the geometric precision with which they are portrayed. The subject matter, coupled with the rich intensity of his color choices and the flattened perspective, creates a mood of empathy for the pathos of human folly. One's gaze follows the strong lines across these darkly humorous scenes of the good life, and we take in the highly stylized images that are thick with attitude as well as powerful in composition. These are people who are living the American dream, but there is literally a dimension missing from their lives. No connection exists between his subjects, no passion that has not been mediated by the approval of status, material wealth and conformity.
In a time when American economic livelihood is threatened and the habit of "conspicuous consumption" is becoming more of a historical notion, Robert Ransom's vivid and biting commentaries are a stark and timely mirror. Robert Ransom received his Masters Degree in painting from Northern Arizona University, his work has been exhibited across the Western United States.
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"Wall Street"
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"Cat"
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Monte Shelton

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Transporting the viewer into intriguing dreamscapes, Monte Shelton displays wonder and mystery of the natural world. Color represents light, light represents energy. Her paintings are concerned with energies that illuminate and emanate in the natural world. This light/energy is the ground in Shelton’s paintings. They permeate physical layers built upon that foundation, creating magical luminosity that reflects the layers of meaning within, representing landscape as metaphor. Shelton’s images are a fusion of observation and imagination, the abstract and descriptive. She blends the tension between light and shadow, the paradox of fire and water, hot and cold, life and death.
Expressive brush work represents energy spots, layering yellows and gold into languid blues and violets. Her paintings play weight against weightlessness, the static against the kinetic, making an original statement about the relationship between matter and energy. As landscape portraits, the acting force is nature itself—wind, rays of light, currents of water, the element of time—the movement is one of mystery, mythology, and the connection of nature and spirituality.
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"Signal Fires"
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"Energy Stump"
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Jackie Thiaudiere

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Jackie Thiaudiere’s paintings explore the vastness of the natural world. The expanses of color and organic textures evoke a vital, harmonious openness. As minimal and ethereal as her paintings are, they invariably seem full and resolved. In her work, Thiaudiere responds to the four Aristotelian elements: air, fire, earth and water. Through these constituents, she is able to capture a range of sensations. Rough to lush, glowing to opaque, the sometimes motionless auras give her work a sublime quietness. By exploring the most fundamental, innate aspects of the natural world, Thiaudiere enters into a visual conversation about transcendence, essence and completeness. Ultimately, the visual unity of Thiaudiere’s work suggests that painting being attuned to nature brings us closer to understanding our world than anything else.
Born in France, Jackie Thiaudiere, has lived and worked in Quebec, Canada for over forty years. She has exhibited in Quebec, Chicago, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain and France.
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"Geo-Marine Series No. 34"
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"Geo-Marine Series No. 51"
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