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Between Now and Then
site specific artwork and drawings
opening reception : May 12, 2007 7-10pm
Main Gallery : Mara Lonner - Between Now and Then
Project Space : Angel Chen - Everything is a Love Song
SHOW RUNS from May 12 - June 9
Mara Lonner’s previous bodies of work have investigated the overlap between ornament and architecture, the intersection between labor and material, and the relationship between surface and structure, in order to reveal the paradox inherent within these contrasting elements. Since 1989, Lonner has been presenting individual works offered in an ideal arrangement, proposing a resonance between the objects much like the rooms in IKEA. Rather than employing ornamentation to uphold the uniformity and harmony of the surface appearance of structural form, Lonner breaks through the surface to make highly crafted decoration and patterning integral to the architecture of her forms.
Lonner’s recent series of colored-pencil drawings on paper and a wall piece on view at The Jail Gallery investigate the relationship between architecture, drawing and sculpture. They address her interest in the spaces between, spaces that are sometimes difficult and uncomfortable, sometimes intolerable or exciting, but are always important states of transition.
It is the unpredictable exigencies caused by the layering process itself which resonate for the artist. Just as roots must penetrate the ground to move particles of earth in order to release oxygen that creates nutrients, Lonner’ layering of imagery— flowers in the background, leaves in the middle ground, and roots placed on top pays homage to this inevitable cycle, while inverting the natural order. While the artist’s adherence to monochromatic purity may appear to challenge the limits of visibility, her treatment of texture such as painting her flowers a slightly shiny version of latex or sculpting her roots in joint compound— a material normally used to create structure, allows the imagery to pull forward or recede in relation to each other. By exhibiting decidedly feminine traits of adapting and adjusting, self reflectivity, along with the physical capacity to be innately aware of nature, Lonner’s patterning and ornamentation is equally seductive. In the process of inventing her own set of imagery, she draws certain parallels between the Victorian period and our own as referenced by the romanticizing of home pursuits, and through sexually-related fears, re-interpreted through phallic-like or explosive symbolism.
In her investigation of states of transitions, Lonner strikes a delicate balance by buttressing feelings of loss and melancholia with an overall sense of beauty, which makes living so worthwhile.
ARTISTS' BIO:
Mara Lonner was born in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, in 1956. After initial studies in horticulture, she pursued a career that encompassed, costume, jewelry, interior design and architectural remodeling. She received her BFA in 1987 and an MFA in 1989 from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Since 1995, she has taught all levels of drawing, 2/3D design, sculpture and senior exhibition at the University of California, Irvine. In addition, she teaches at Long Beach Community College and for the California Summer School for the Arts. In 1998, she received a California Arts Council fellowship, and in 2001 and 2005, was awarded Artist Completion Grants from the Durfee Foundation. Her work has been exhibited across the country. She continues to work and live in Los Angeles.
Angel Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1971. Following her BFA from
UCLA in 1994 and MFA from Calarts in 1999, she has also received
numerous prestigious international awards and residencies including the
Ahmanson Award, residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture in Maine, Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, and Julia
and David White Artist Colony in Costa Rica. Her professional
achievements include art direction for film and internet, fashion and
interior design, as well as art education. She is currently also an
art journalist writing for Artillery magazine. Her work has been
exhibited internationally, she lives in Venice Beach and travels
extensively for inspiration and connection to the world at large.
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