mixedmediaposts

[mixedmediaposts]

MEMORY /       IMAGE /        PERCEPTION

Jamie F Simpson

Due to the transient nature of memory we are constantly faced with ambiguity regarding reality and fiction. By applying thoughts and theories by Bergson, Proust, Barthes and Burgin as well as my own, to a poetic and often metaphorical language I contest the division between pure memory, memory-image, perception and confabulation.

For his first solo exhibition, British artist Jamie F Simpson (born Glasgow, 1980) presents an exhibition of new and recent work many of which are on view for the first time. MEMORY / IMAGE / PERCEPTION invites visitors into a multi-layered interior of hidden and forgotten structures, containing moving images, sounds and installations which re-imagine the work within recently abandoned social and domestic spaces.

Using ideas of identity, absence, displacement, time, place and memory, Simpson explores the intrinsic connections between narrative, text and image. Through these brave and provocative notions and concepts he attempts to influence a change in the mind of the viewer by forcing them to imagine their own life and memories as art.

jamiefsimpson.co.uk

[mixedmediaposts]

Marion Peck Bunny Love, 2007 Oil on canvas

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA

Marion Peck grew up in Seattle Washington. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband and fellow Turn the Page artist, Mark Ryden.

Peck mixes traditional genres of painting with humorous or absurdist imagery. The resulting paintings are comforting yet surreal. Here, with an amusing take on wildlife-themed art, is a serene, softly lit landscape. In a meadow filled with soft colors are two soft and sweet bunnies. The fluffy, pink-eyed creatures act out the title of the painting, upending the pleasant scene with sly humor.

[mixedmediaposts]

Christine K. Harris Come Inside, 2015 Resin, polymer clay, wood, acrylic paint

[mixedmediaposts]

Christine K. Harris Let Go, 2015 Resin, polymer clay, cage, acrylic paint

Exhibited at the Virginia MOCA

[mixedmediaposts]

Christine K. Harris

Exhibited at the Virginia MOCA

[mixedmediaposts]

Christine K. Harris Left: Time’s Up, 2016 | Resin, polymer clay, findings, acrylic paint Center: Interconnected, 2015 | Resin, polymer clay, wood, findings, acrylic paint Right: Killer Bee, 2016 | Resin, polymer clay, dandelion seeds, acrylic paint

Exhibited at the Virginia MOCA

[mixedmediaposts]

Christine K. Harris Majica, 2016 Resin, polymer clay, findings, acrylic paint

Exhibited at the Virginia MOCA

[mixedmediaposts]

Christine K. Harris

Exhibited at the Virginia MOCA

[mixedmediaposts]

Tara McPherson during the process of creating Wandering Luminations.

[mixedmediaposts]

Olek in Collaboration with Michelle P. Dodson A Working Life, 2015 Video projection, wooden frame

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of the Artists and Integrated Visions Productions)

Polish-born, Olek (Agata Oleksiak) is a prolific artist who is always pushing the boundaries of her art and her world. She carefully chooses what she covers in crocheted fabric. From the Wall Street Bull to a homeless shelter in India, each site intervenes and brings attention to a place and its needs.

Here, Olek’s crochet brings movement and dynamism to projected light. Both mediums share a temporary nature that brings greater meaning to this work. Olek crocheted the elements that were then unraveled knot by knot. Her collaborator, Michelle P. Dodson, captured this process via stop motion photography. The millions of resulting frames were recombined for the final projection.

This collaboration honors the many artists that history has ignored or forgotten. Artists whose work is ephemeral in nature or deviates from the lineage of Western fine art are often left behind as time moves forward.

[mixedmediaposts]

Marco Mazzoni Left: Too Much Love, 2014 | Colored pencil on Moleskine paper Right: 6 O’Clock, 2014 | Colored pencil on Moleskine paper

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of Artist and Thinkspace Gallery)

Italian artist Marco Mazzoni works with colored pencils to create drawings inspired by nature. He often refers to Italian folklore in his work, portraying female faces with no eyes surrounded by flowers and animals.

His drawings on Moleskine paper, two of which hang here, show animals struggling through life. They represent the eternal struggles that we all face. Life, death, and everything in between are a communal experience. In this we are all connected.

[mixedmediaposts]

Gehard Demetz How Do You Feed Spirits?, 2012 Limewood and acrylic paint

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, New York)

Gehard Demetz has an education in the traditional craft of wood-carving. The artist carves figures from small blocks of wood rejoined into an imperfect whole.

His sculptures are life-sized children with ancient memories. Their poses suggest the religious statues of saints. However, their knowing gazes and dark titles serve more to indict humanity than glorify it.

[mixedmediaposts]

Tracey Snelling Night Alley, 2013 Mixed media

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Collection of Idan Levin)

Tracey Snelling is a mixed media artist. She uses sculpture, photography, video, and installation to create diorama sculptures and large installations. Regardless of scale, no detail is missing. Snelling doesn’t just afford us the look of a place and its people, but also their aura.

Night Alley hints at a dark story happening in a seedy neighborhood. The sculpture makes reference of old horror films, true crime TV shows, and vintage detective novels. Snelling gives hints of the dark deeds that may be happening within the dilapidated buildings’ walls. But, as viewers, we must draw our own conclusions.

[mixedmediaposts]

Erwin Wurm Black Hoody, 2012 Acrylic and paint

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of the Artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong)

Erwin Wurm has a worldwide reputation for creating formalist sculptures with humorous twists. Often in the form of critique of consumer culture, his works include an empty pink suit, and fat floppy houses or cars.

Black Hoody is part of a series that explores how clothing changes the way in which we see ourselves and each other. The series are all faceless figures wearing hoodies. For the artist, the reference looks to British “soccer hooligans.” In the United States, they may carry a different connotation.

[mixedmediaposts]

Fulvio Di Piazza Ratspiderbat, 2013 Oil on canvas

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of Galleria Giovanni Bonelli, Milan)

Renowned artist Fulvio Di Piazza creates dark, wild oil paintings. Like Ratspiderbat, they sometimes resemble a large head or animal from a distance. Upon closer inspection, one realizes that they are verdant, detailed landscapes. In this painting, the head is actually a dwelling with light streaming out from ears, mouth, and other random places. It is emerging from the murky depths below. The animals mentioned in the title run amok over the structure.

Di Piazza worries about the consequences of humanity’s action upon nature. He believes that we should explore natural energy solutions instead of the destructive pursuit of fossil fuels.

[mixedmediaposts]

Mark Dean Veca Madder Hatter, 2016 Acrylic on walls, printed vinyl graphic on floor, bean bag chairs, string lights, paper lanterns

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of the Artist)

[mixedmediaposts]

Kate MacDowell Memento Mori 2, 2015 Slip-cast and hand-built porcelain and glaze

Exhibition: Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose at Virginia MOCA (Courtesy of Kate MacDowell)

Kate MacDowell’s fascination with animals and the natural world has been constant since childhood. Humanity’s relationship with nature inform her fragile porcelain sculptures. She is also inspired by Greek mythology, art history, and cultural figures and events. Photographs and scientific drawings guide the proportions and construction of each piece.

MacDowell sculpts with porcelain for its luminous and ethereal quality. Delicate and beautiful yet unsettling, her work explores the ongoing friction between man and nature.

“Memento mori” is a Latin phrase meaning “remember you shall die.” Used as a common trope in the visual arts for centuries, it reminds the viewer of their mortality and the fragility of human life.