2008 Woodie Awards
Art exhibit in Mitchell
Nicholas Mehalick
Issue date: 9/19/06 Section: Entertainment
Upon entering the current art exhibit in Mitchell Hall, one is overcome with a feeling of intense serenity and calm.
The muted greens and blues emanating from Antonio Puri's five massive 72" x 72" canvasses sets his intended tone of universality. Though Puri's creations are not loud in any sort of colorized or audible sense, they are quite extreme. Constructed around a constant circular focal point, Puri employs such mixed media as beads, string and thick layers of crackle paint to give each piece the ability to be perceived as anything from the nucleus of a cell to an alien planet in the far reaches of space.
This very organic and texturally intense aim is wholly achieved by Puri, whether one is fifteen feet or inches away from a piece. However, upon getting close to each piece, one begins to notice specific details that add not only a unique depth but a seemingly more calculated approach that can be easily missed when simply viewed from afar. A swirling effect, much like the cilia of a cell, is quickly realized to be the result of numerous strands of string strewn through the wet canvas and then removed prior to drying. Many small colored beads are also present in all of Puri's pieces. Yet these beads are not removed, rather left in the paintings, some covered in white crackle paint as accents, others left unpainted, their vibrant pinks and greens contrasting the explosions of white engulfing them.
Similarly, as one proceeds down the hall to Ms. Donna Usher's exhibit the connecting theme between the two artists concerning the bridging of the microscopic to the macrocosmic is vastly apparent. While Usher's canvasses are far smaller, the circular focal points and tranquil colors shine through. Her works, ranging from Natural Phenomenon 1 to Natural Phenomenon 9, show an obvious association with the organic and her affection for the world around her. This is also where her art seems to differ a bit from Puri's. While his pieces are all, quite abstract Usher employs a collage technique. One specific piece which shows her ties with the sea, air and culture around her. In it she has a piece of actual coral and human hair waxed in, as well as a birds nest, turtle shell and Australian dollar. It was in Australia this past spring that Usher was reinspired to use circles in her art because of the Aboriginal art which was all around her. It was there that she also began to delve a bit deeper into her use of Encaustics, the use of wax and paint combined to create a piece. Her exhibit is entitled Exploring Encaustics, and included a small encaustic ball colored like the planet Earth with pigtails of human hair coming out the sides resting on a pillow, and another entitled John Coltrane Cup of Blues. Both pieces represented her affection for the beauty in nature and culture around her.
All in all, the exhibit was quite awe inspiring, not only from the sheer size of some of the pieces but from the mood one could not help but feel upon viewing. Both artists are incredibly talented and while one may not fully understand all they were trying to express, merely being able to take in what was on display was pleasure enough.
The muted greens and blues emanating from Antonio Puri's five massive 72" x 72" canvasses sets his intended tone of universality. Though Puri's creations are not loud in any sort of colorized or audible sense, they are quite extreme. Constructed around a constant circular focal point, Puri employs such mixed media as beads, string and thick layers of crackle paint to give each piece the ability to be perceived as anything from the nucleus of a cell to an alien planet in the far reaches of space.
This very organic and texturally intense aim is wholly achieved by Puri, whether one is fifteen feet or inches away from a piece. However, upon getting close to each piece, one begins to notice specific details that add not only a unique depth but a seemingly more calculated approach that can be easily missed when simply viewed from afar. A swirling effect, much like the cilia of a cell, is quickly realized to be the result of numerous strands of string strewn through the wet canvas and then removed prior to drying. Many small colored beads are also present in all of Puri's pieces. Yet these beads are not removed, rather left in the paintings, some covered in white crackle paint as accents, others left unpainted, their vibrant pinks and greens contrasting the explosions of white engulfing them.
Similarly, as one proceeds down the hall to Ms. Donna Usher's exhibit the connecting theme between the two artists concerning the bridging of the microscopic to the macrocosmic is vastly apparent. While Usher's canvasses are far smaller, the circular focal points and tranquil colors shine through. Her works, ranging from Natural Phenomenon 1 to Natural Phenomenon 9, show an obvious association with the organic and her affection for the world around her. This is also where her art seems to differ a bit from Puri's. While his pieces are all, quite abstract Usher employs a collage technique. One specific piece which shows her ties with the sea, air and culture around her. In it she has a piece of actual coral and human hair waxed in, as well as a birds nest, turtle shell and Australian dollar. It was in Australia this past spring that Usher was reinspired to use circles in her art because of the Aboriginal art which was all around her. It was there that she also began to delve a bit deeper into her use of Encaustics, the use of wax and paint combined to create a piece. Her exhibit is entitled Exploring Encaustics, and included a small encaustic ball colored like the planet Earth with pigtails of human hair coming out the sides resting on a pillow, and another entitled John Coltrane Cup of Blues. Both pieces represented her affection for the beauty in nature and culture around her.
All in all, the exhibit was quite awe inspiring, not only from the sheer size of some of the pieces but from the mood one could not help but feel upon viewing. Both artists are incredibly talented and while one may not fully understand all they were trying to express, merely being able to take in what was on display was pleasure enough.
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