Christine Romanell’s fascination with science and math is evident in her artwork. Her installations typically involve kinetic elements, light, and at times she is also collaborating with scientists, engineers, or other artists. Romanell shares with Art Spiel the impetus for her work, process, and exhibitions, including her current exhibition at “Everything Is Connected” at 1978 Maplewood Arts Center in NJ, a culmination of a year of work investigating rotational symmetry.
Christine Soccio Romanell, Cubed, 2018, 25 x 25 x 60 inches, Laser cut colored acrylic, courtesy of the artist
Carol Salmanson, Lightshift 1 with the artist, LEDs, reflective sheeting, plexi, beads, 50.5″ H x 69″W x 5.5″D, 2018
Carol Salmanson began as a painter and then gradually started embracing the use of LED lights in her work. In “Two Sides to a Coin,” Salmanson’s recent solo show at SL Gallery, she shows her paintings and light work side by side. This results in a dynamic conversation between the two forms. Salmanson shared with Art Spiel the genesis of her work, thought process, and projects. Continue reading “Carol Salmanson: Two Sides to a Coin”
Leslie Kerby,Shots and Ills, 2015, mixed media collage, oil, paper, litho transfer ink, 18-x-20 inches. Photo credit Bill Orcutt
Leslie Kerby creates mixed media collages, installations, and diverse collaborative work with nuanced commentary on current social and cultural climate. In her interview with Art Spiel she sheds some light on her diverse professional background, art-making process, ideas, and plans. Continue reading “Leslie Kerby: At a Moment of Change”
In her poetic and playful installations Viviane Rombaldi Seppey coalesces everyday objects and materials, altogether bringing to mind contemporary issues of identity, culture and environment. Maps, phonebooks, and books become directly embedded in her work as drawings, collages or sculptural objects. She has recently shared in an interview with Art Spiel some of her ideas and experiences. Continue reading “Viviane Rombaldi Seppey – Mapping her Road”
Get Loose, installation view, photo courtesy Rick Wester Fine Art
Get Loose, the three person show Curated by Tracy McKenna at Rick Wester Fine Art, features work by Cat Balco, Ben Godward, and Jason Rohlf, who all show a knack for unexpected twists of material resulting in exuberant abstracted forms and unorthodox color across the board. The abstract paintings and sculptures in the show prompt loose interpretations of Geometric Abstraction, where the hand is rigorously present. Continue reading “Get Loose at Rick Wester Fine Art”
“Containment”, partial Installation view at Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, (right wall: Erin Diebboll, center front: Linda Ganjian, left: david Packer), photo by Etienne Frossard
The group of international artists throughout the two exhibitions at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey – “Containment” and “Oh what a world! What a world!” are altogether reflecting on social, political, and cultural changes in recent history. “Oh what a world! What a world!”, located in the Main Gallery, addresses a wide array of issues related to immigration, gender equality, civil rights, policing, protest, and the state of our Democracy. “Containment”, at the Eisenberg and Strolling Gallery, addresses specifically hot trade issues – how the use of shipping containers affects our ability to trade and ship goods globally, coming to the forefront with Trump’s attempts to remove the country from existing trade deals. Both shows were curated by Mary Birmingham. The following preview on the two shows is largely based on text provided by the NJ Visual Arts Center.
Installation view, (Christina Massey), courtesy of efa Project Space Program
Studio Immersion Project (SIP) is an intensive 3 month studio fellowship designed to immerse artists in the world of printmaking. Throughout the fellowship period SIP Fellows build upon existing skills and acquire new techniques. Through a selective application process the SIP invites artists from all media who are interested in exploring printmaking as an integral part of their art making. Continue reading “Studio Immersion Project Annual Exhibitions”
Katerina Lanfrancoexplores through painterly means the intellectual and physical freedom of making art at different scales and in various mediums. In her multi-faceted installations, paintings and sculptures she re-imagines scientific possibilities of human interference, interaction, and creativity in nature. Lanfranco, who is also a curator, educator, and writer, shares some thoughts on her journey, ideas, and curatorial practice with Art Spiel. Continue reading “Katerina Lanfranco- Resisting Binary Oppositions”
Simonette Quamina, Swing: An ode to romanticism. 50 x 70 in. , 2017. Graphite, relief print on paper, courtesy of the artist
Simonette Quamina coalesces printmaking, drawing, and collage seamlessly. She is using only paper, graphite and ink to create richly textured surfaces in subtle yet bold monochromes. Her images vacillate between stillness and movement, personal and epic narratives, memory and tangible presence. I first saw her work at the Elizabeth Foundation open studios and invited her to share her ideas and methods. Besides this interview for Art Spiel, her work was included in an article I recently wrote for Kolaj Magazine (upcoming issue). Continue reading “Simonette Quamina – The Big Fight”
