WLCM BCK SHOW

1) Wendy White, CNC, 2010, Acrylic on Canvas, 37.5” x 43”
2) Steven Westfall, Cosmadin, 2008, Oil on Canvas, 36”x 30”
3) Catherine Haggarty, Untitled, Pen and Gouache on Canvas, 24” x 32”
4) Julie Langsam, Fuller Landscape (Dymaxion Dwelling Machine/Wichita House) Reinhardt Pink, 2007, Oil on Panel, 24” x 24”
5) Eileen Behnke, …on the Grass, 2010, 5’ x 3’, Oil on Canvas


1) Wendy’s piece is a unique and innovative fusion of spray painted graffiti art, sculpure, and modern canvas painting. Her sculptural appendages become extensions of the body of the canvas, springing forth dynamism, life and vitality. The sprayed word looks like it says “dies” backwards, but it could also say “023713” forwards. but I could try to figure out the decoding of this piece for a long time. Since the title is CNC, I am able to find those letters on the appendages spelled backwards. Wendy seems to place emphasis on the construction and process in making this work and entices the viewer to try to internalize and deconstruct its construction. The use of color gradation in the fonts emphasize a graphic and modern composition. The spray paint directly applied to unprimed canvas creates a soft, worn and ephemeral feel. The black paint applied haphazardly does not seem discordant or rushed. It complements the urban, graphic, modern feel of the work. Its placement in the main room across from the decorated and colorful Pharaoh bust places emphasis on bright color and playfulness. I would have placed the metallic green sculpture closer to her work instead, because it is a very industrial and modern piece that has analogous green complementary to the bright green in her painting.

2) Westfall's methodical and organized piece deserves much admiration for its execution. Cosmadin and …on the grass are stark contrasts in subject matter, composition, brushwork, and perspective, but they surprisingly complement eachother in their juxtapositions. Westfall’s minimalist gridding creates order and structure next to the dynamic colorful figure painting. The repetition and patterning of diamonds creates this dimensional thrust from every angle of the canvas. The points of the diamonds seem to be optically undulating and moving out of the confines of the canvas. I admire the cleanliness, planning, gridding, and geometry of the piece. Although one may be reminded of Frank Stella’s methodical works, one could also reference a childhood memory with the Zebra stripe chewing gum. His color palette matched the wrappers of the gum, so his painting can be associated with candy as well as decorative designs. His title seems to be an imagined or unknown word, which pushes the viewer to make his or her own associations and interpretations of the painting instead of trying to place heavy importance on the title in uncovering the painting's meanings.

3) Haggarty's painting is notably neutral, simple and smallscale. However, one could not help but admire the patience put into the execution of this work. The horizontal organic form that the artist drew in the middle of the canvas seems to be a reference to a geological and organic form. It is far removed from its natural existence, as the artist surrounds the drawing with yellow-tinted gouache paint. The lines are irregular, unique and layered repetitiously. The idea of referencing nature, such as sediment or rock formation (perhaps a plateau or a canyon) is just one intepretation. Another viewer might associate this piece with a large pile of papers, perhaps crinkled or damp because the layers are so irregular. The neutral colors place emphasis on the mastery of the detailed pen work. The mixed media work is graphic, illustrative, and unique in style and composition. The placement of this artwork in the small room outside of the main gallery space was a well-planned aesthetic decision. It would have been looked over or understated by the emphasis of color, pattern and forms if placed in the main room. Its subtlety and neutrality is better appreciated in a smaller room with the thick and sculptural artworks.

4) Julie’s paintings are categorized on her website as utopian structures, museum paintings, sculpture paintings and house paintings. Her body of work revolves around existing architectural structures, such her Fuller Landscape piece. The title is in reference to the inventor and architect Buckminster Fuller, who invented the Dymaxion House to improve the housebuilding techniques of his time. He architectural layout was inspired by a grain bin, which has the domed shape found in Julie's painting. I originally thought that her title referenced the Australian outdoor en plein aire landscape artist, Warwick Fuller. He has impressionistic strokes and a thick paint application, but Julie opts for a smooth, shiny and lustrous paint application in her sky background. The clouds are grey with hints of putrid yellow, which could be in reference to the pollution and toxicity of the modern world. The bottom of her painting is a direct reference to the artwork of Abstract Expressionist/Minimalist Painter Ad Reinhart. Her rectangular structures are layered on top of one another, and she restricts her color palette to tints of pink, reds, tan, and peach. Her abstract rectangle layers remind me of the minimalist and simple forms of the Josef Albers in his book, The Interaction of Color. I feel that Julie’s panel painting was appropriate for the main gallery room. Its geometrical precision, effortless and smooth blending, and fusion of fine art and architecture all deserve much admiration and observation. All these qualities contrast Behnke’s largescale dynamic painting, which has bright neon colors, and thick and spontaneous brushwork and presence of the human form.

5) The large vertical painting to the left of Julie's painting ...on the Grass received my immediate attention. In particular, the large size, bright playful color, and dynamic composition were striking qualities of this painting. The body torsion references Italian Marble sculptures and Mannerist paintings of the Italian Renaissance. The triangular composition could be inspiration from Michelangelo’s oil and tempera painting Doni Tondo. Eileen demonstrates an innovative and creative use of color in the skin of the human forms, with a mix of neutrals, brights, and neons. The perspective places the viewer above the friends lounging out on the grass. Our bird’s eye view gives us a bigger span of area in which to see their body orientations and entangling of limbs and forms. The small objects on the grass are painted flat, with no modeling or dimension, which places greater emphasis and importance on the human subjects. Eileen emphasizes brushwork and color over blending and modeling, which is an interesting way to apply oil paint as a figure painter. I was struck by her handling of oil paint as if it were acrylic paints instead. The composition is dynamic with bodily torsion and entangling, and the verticality of the canvas cuts off the view of some body parts. Her decision to paint a scene that is predominantly horizontal on a vertical canvas seems intentional, because it makes the artwork aesthetically exciting and intriguing. The man on the bottom is cut off the canvas, which adds weight to the bottom, while the top of the canvas is green grass without detail. This dynamic composition creates depth and distance in this seemingly flat piece.