Hidden Gems, a group
exhibition of works on paper representing the affinities of
intergenerational thought, style and process, will open at the June Kelly
Gallery on July 9. The works will remain on view through July 31.
From seed, tree, wood pulp, to
paper…to art on paper, this collaboratively conceived summer installation
reflects that final metamorphosis upon which the varied perspectives of 22
artists are presented. The exhibition
threads together a compelling complexity of themes major to the artists.
The pairing of “hidden” and “gems”
puts emphasis on contemplation of these works as possibly highly prized by
the artists, strongly engaging, as well as perhaps politically defiant.
While the works reflect a diversity of voices, they reveal a notable insight
of relationships of artists who have no other ties.
Real or imaginative, figurative or
abstract, documentary, didactic, the works in Hidden Gems highlight
the thinking and individualism of each artist. In
this grouping, a hanging mobile titled Snookie’s Snack Shack Inn by
Toyce Anderson is the exception on an exhibition checklist where
two-dimensional works dominate.
The works shown here are
characteristically representative of the artists: Mark Alsterlind, Toyce
Anderson, Benny Andrews, Elise Asher, Karin Batten, Stan Brodsky, Elizabeth
Catlett, Carmen Cicero, Sam Gilliam, Su-Li Hung, Frances Hynes, Sandra
Lerner, Norman Lewis, Chris Ofili, Howardena Pindell, Sarah Plimpton, Larry
Potter, Debra Priestly, Robert Reid, Julio Valdez, John Wilson and Nola
Zirin.
