Escaping Into the Beauty of Art Joni Chasteen 8/1/2013

No matter how varied the form or focus that art embodies, the one thing that all art shares is the ability to in some way appeal to the senses. My museum contains art works that are appreciated because they accentuate a certain asthetic quality found in the natural world. In these particular pieces, the artist chose to focus on a single image or material that emphasizes a theme from nature. It is not about getting a message or provocative shock value, but the shear sensual pleasure these artists bring to their work.

The gallery is oval in shape with a faade of green marble. The roof has skylights to enhance the art with natural lighting when possible. It is placed in a natural space surrounded by a well-preserved wooded area. As a visitor approaches the building they will immediately notice one of Jappie King Blacks installation pieces made of living plant material. As visitors enter the gallery they will be given booklets containing detailed information about each artist and the works featured in this show. The art will be arranged around the exterior gallery wall as follows: to the right the exhibit begins with the imagined images of Vincent Van Gogh followed by the captured images of Edward Weston and Christopher Burkett and the tactile works of Anna Von Mertens and Jappie King Black, whose large works will be located in the center of the room. The visitors are invited to go along this route or simply meander among the art works however they prefer. The most important thing is to enjoy these wonderful pieces for their individual merits.

Vincent Van Gogh Edward Weston Christopher Burkett Anna Von Mertens Jappie King Black

Post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh uses mostly oil and canvas to render the beauty of the natural world with more pure emotion than probably any other artist. In his later work, he used vibrant colors applied thickly and with obvious brushstrokes that make his canvases come to life. Although not appreciated during his lifetime, he eventually came to be known as a genius of the postimpressionist style.

1888 Oil on Canvas

1889 Oil on canvas Measurements: Unframed: 71 x 93 cm (28 x 36 5/8 in.)

Vincent Van Gogh, Cherry Blossoms, after Hiroshige

1887 Oil on Canvas 55x46cm.

1887 Oil on canvas Measurements: 17 x 24 in. (43.2 x 61 cm)

1888 Oil on canvas 46.0 x 59.5 cm

Photographer Edward Weston started taking photographs at the age of sixteen. He is best known for photographing forms of nature, close-ups, nudes and landscapes. Along with Ansel Adams, Sonya Noskowiak, Imogen Cunningham and Willard Van Dyke, Weston created the Group f/64 organization in 1932. The name was chosen because these photographers favored setting their aperture to 64 in order to achieve sharpness both in the foreground and background of their pictures. He was the first photographer to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (in 1936) for experimental work. The subjects that Weston chose to photograph are ordinary, but the way he shot them makes them astonishing. Weston transformed their common form into something sculptural by going close-up to his subject matter. Through unaltered, straight forward images, he revealed the innate textural composition and essential beauty of his photographic prints.

1939, gelatin silver print

Edward Weston, Nautilus

1927

1936, gelatin silver print

1931, Gelatin silver print

1936, silverprint

Christopher Burkett is a highly respected color landscape photographer. He uses an 8x10 view camera and still hand-prints all of his photographs. Burkett believes that a pixel will never be a photon and vows never to use digital printing processes. To Burkett photography is a means of articulating the elegance, luminosity and splendor the natural world imparts. He strives to eternalize what he witnesses in the transitory image of one particular moment.

1989

1994

Fiber artist Anna Von Mertens constructs art quilts out of the basic materials cloth and thread. However, the intricate quilting techniques she uses and her subject matter are far from simplistic. The painstaking details she includes in her hand-sewn non-traditional quilts include hand-dying and hand-quilting. Mertens stunning creations transform unsophisticated, common materials into sculpture like forms that uniquely and magnificently capture exquisite images from nature. The dotted line of hand-stitching is a marker of uncertainty, a way of exploring. The time invested in making the work, allowing for contemplation and internalizing, becomes a part of how the work is viewed.

2008 hand-stitched, hand-dyed cotton, 54" x 100"

(September 19, 2007 and September 19, 2082) 2008, hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton, 54" x 100"

at 4 p.m., October 23-29th 2000, hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton, steel angle, steel tubing, plastic sheet, 60" x 80" x 15"

2004 hand-stitched, hand-dyed cotton, 60" x 80" x 17"

(Sunset, January 24, 1848, Sutter's Mill, Coloma, California) 2008, hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton, 54" x 100"

Fiber artist Jappie King Black gathers vines and barks from around her home and creates sculptural forms from these natural materials. She states, I expect my work to speak about nature, metamorphosis, time, loss and the handmade object. Through her work the ephemeral beauty of nature is exemplified.

approx. 10' x 20' Installation at Phoenix Gallery, New York, New York

Jappie King Black, Bark Blanket, Not Your Average Afghan

grapevine & paint approx. 60" x 40"

Jappie King Black, Re Evolving

grapevine & barbed wire, 8' x 20' x 10'

Jappie King Black, Uneasy Balance detail

grapevine & mixed media on paper approx. 10' x 20' x 10'

Jappie King Black, Kudzu vines Seymour Library Installation Summer