Barbara Fisher

I went to visit Barbara Fisher's studio when I was in Asheville this July and found a huge shift going on in her work. Known for her colorful iconographic gridded imagery, the work has moved to a dark, mysterious, atmospheric space with merging marks and forms. It feels like a thinking space on a chalkboard. Have a look:

All are oil, oil stick, charcoal, pastel on birch panel

Tangled Thoughts - 30 x 30

Hubris - 16 x 16

Evidence - 40 x 40

Unwinding - 16 x 16

Barbara lists her Influences: early ones include Van Gogh, Gauguin, Klee.The German Expressionists,  Guston.  New Image painters of the early '80's (Jennifer Bartlett, Susan Rothenberg).
Non artist influences - Carl Jung and other psycho-philosophers. Contemporary physicists - Mario Livio, Brian Green.

She is currently in  Southern Abstraction: A New Look at the Mobile Musuem of Art. In 2013 a solo show is planned for the Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory NC.

For years my artistic language consisted of iconic shapes and symbols, reduced to their simplest forms. I gradually began to break them up into what felt like pieces of images.  Recently they have disintegrated further into fragments of thoughts, gestural marks, and scribbles – hovering in undefined, unrestrained atmospheric spaces.   Switching from canvas to birch panel resulted in a dramatic shift in the work’s physicality. Spontaneous marks provide a history of transformation and change.   The paintings are worked over a long period of time, giving the appearance of old walls that have been written and drawn on for years.

 The history of process and transformation evident in the finished paintings continually reminds the viewer of the inevitability of change and the impermanence inherent in all things.   The wood surfaces are sanded, scribbled on, painted over, wiped off and otherwise distressed.  The essence of my creative inquiry is to dissect and examine again and again my perceptions of truth, reality, and the Self that derive from external sources, turning that experience into a visual record.

Thinking About Some Favorites

I have been updating my powerpoint about my work for teaching purposes and have been sneaking in some artists that I feel have influenced my work over the years. The power point is still in progress but I am expanding outside the idea of influences to adding work that speaks to me. Here are a few.

Henri Matisse

Eva Hesse

Joan Synder

Ree Morton

Susan Rothenberg

        Alberto Giacometti

                                                                                  

Edward Vuillard

Mark Rothko

 Rembrandt

     Paul Cezanne                

                                                         

                                                

Hannalore BAron

Giotto

Brenda Goodman

Philip Guston

Hans Hoffman

Joan Mitchell

Jackson Pollack

Brice Marden

Judy Pfaff

Martin Puryear

Paul Rotterdam

Amy Sillman

Julie Mehretu

Paul Behnke and Tremain Smith at The Rosenfeld Gallery

Sunday, September 9th was the opening of Paul Behnke and Tremain Smith at The Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. It is always nice to go to a gallery and see two artists' work that you are inspired by and respect. Walking into the gallery you first see Paul's big and bold sense of color, and shifting space done with a sensitivity to surface. Then you make your way back to Tremain's more intimate, layered and intricate sensibility. It was a great day for abstract painting. The show runs until September 30th. Get to the show or go to their websites for better viewing of the paintings.

 "My painting process is concerned with formal aspects. It is only after the fact that I can start to decipher imagery and any personal symbolism that may be present. I’m not interested in sharing any interpretations of forms with the viewer." Paul Behnke

Big Narcissus,(diptych), 2011, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 120 inches

Yello Nike (2012) - acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches

Happy Val Lewtons Day (2011) - acrylic on canvas, 46 x 48 inches

Arieles Table (2012) - acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches

Paul in deep conversation

 "Smith uses the grid as her departure point. From this basis she moves freely. The lines and planes are bridges or passageways; doors, walls and floor plans to inner realities. They become mappings of the unseen as she seeks to visually manifest access to the spiritual."

Tremain smiling in front of her sold painting

Birth, 2012 Oil, wax & collage on panel 16" x 16"

Clockwork, 2012 Oil, wax & collage on panel 36" x 48"

Motion, 2011 Oil, wax & collage on panel 48" x 24"

Current, 2012 Oil, wax & collage on panel 48" x 48"

Mystic Ascent, 2012 Oil, wax & collage on panel 36" x 24"

Global Dye Works

On my way out of Philadelphia yesterday, I stopped at Global Dye Works, not having a clue what to expect. I was pretty much overwhelmed by all the installations and the factory itself. I took a ton of pictures without paying much attention to small details...like the names of the artists. Below is the information about the space and the participating artists. It is worth taking the trip to see this show and of course saving time to see Paul Behnke and Tremain Smith's show at the Rosenfeld Gallery. I will post those photos later on this week.

Information for Catagenesis
From September 9 – October 21, 2012 fifteen artists will transform the ground floor (and the roof) of Globe Dye Works into “Catagenesis”, an exhibition of site specific installations and multi-media artworks sponsored by Philadelphia Sculptors. Artists from Canada, Israel and the U. S., including Globe resident artist Joe Leroux, will repurpose discarded Globe equipment and industrial detritus as they unveil their responses to the building and its complex history as a dye manufacturing facility. A video featuring the history of Globe and its current revival will be on view.

4500 WORTH ST, PHILADELPHIA, PA Hours: Saturday and Sunday, noon – 5:00 pm Public Closing Reception
Sunday, October 21, 2012:– 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
More information can be found  here

Nivi Alroy
Gandalf Gavan 
Carolyn Healy and John Phillips
Scott Pellnat
Reece Terris
Juried Artists
Christine Altman
Pam Bowman
Joseph Leroux
Elizabeth Mackie
Ryan Mandell
David Meyer
Michael Morgan
David Page
Jacqueline Weaver and Timothy McMurray
Damian Yanessa


Unfortunately, I didn't photograph everyone's work although I hope to get back, meanwhile I am happy to add images of the other artist's work and everyone's info:please email me @lpart@earthlink.net 

A great show by all! 

This is David Meyer's work from floor to wall at various times during the day.

Jacqueline Weaver and Timothy McMurray

Elizabeth Mackie

Joseph Leroux

Damian Yanessa

Christine Altman

Artist #7

David Page

Carolyn Healy and John Phillips

Some photos I took of the space

More New Work

The Deep 3 10 x10 encaustic

The Deep 4 12 x 12 encaustic

The Deep 5 10 x10 encaustic

The Deep 6 10 x 10 encaustic

The Deep 7 10 x 10 encaustic

The Other Side  12 x 12 oil

The Other Side 2 12 x 12 encaustic