The Process of Weaving the Intentionally Fragmented at Transmitter

The Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire speaks on the essential character of dialogue for revolution. Seen as the thread that connects communities to revolutionary ideas and actions, dialogue is a continual process. A continuum revolves visually and semiotically within the walls of Transmitter gallery these days with the new exhibition Patchwork. Time is of central significance as the theme of fragmentation provides illuminative access through each of the three artists in the show, highlighting complex pasts that beget the enormous project of both appreciation and reconciliation via understanding the significance of each layered memory.

Infinite texture in the form of paint and textile come to us via the work of Manuela Gonzalez, which also speaks to the nexus of memory that these floral designs connote. The texture is of an experimental nature as the variety of textiles incorporated give way to a playful display of the various manners paint can dry when applied on such a diversity of surfaces as seen in her work Untitled. Gonzalez points to the exploration of the visual artifacts of domesticity as a central theme in their work.

“I grew up in Colombia in a family where many women around me were deeply invested in homemaking, caregiving and the creation of objects associated with these practices. These objects were imbued with deep visual intelligence that sat as background for day-to-day life going unnoticed and unexamined,” says Gonzalez. By focusing on the visual strength of domestic objects, Gonzalez creates a new paradigm that gives more artistic value to a female-invested visual practice that has been overlooked in a male dominated art world.

The show also features two other artists who reference the past in their work, Michael Two Bulls and Esteban Ramón Pérez. Pérez calls their art practice “an interrogation and excavation of subjective memory, spirituality, fragmented history, and social-political reality.” Cosmic Aspirations uses a variety of materials which create a sculptural unity amongst the disparate meaning each object holds. The past is addressed by Michael Two Bulls via the use of lighthearted semiotics. While many artists may seek to lay bare the full weight of the past even if that weight can create an unpleasant reaction from the viewer, Two Bulls employs humour that allows the viewer to digest the intensity of the past he references in his pieces. There’s a poetic or musical quality to his work Lakota Landscapes, in that one is struck by poignant imagery of the mountain of buffalo skulls on silkscreen but soothed via the pleasant tonality of painted buffalo ghosts in juxtaposition.

Patchwork runs from till February 14^th at Transmitter Gallery, 329 Willoughby Avenue, 2A, Brooklyn, NY 11237.

Adam Aslan greatly values many elements of art. He creates art, exhibits art, and delights in writing about things with exceptional artistic significance. For more of his writing visit: @writingbyadam – Twitter, for his art @nycpony and for the gallery he runs visit @zxygallery