This is the third report from a continued series regarding the University of Virginia studio art student exhibits at the Off-Grounds Gallery during the months of April and May.
Last week, a Distinguished Major Studio Art Exhibition at Off-Grounds Gallery featured Emily S. Kempson, Matt Kleberg and Camila M. Rivera-Morales. I dropped in prior to the Friday evening reception and checked out what was hanging.
Emily S. Kempson – Things Worth Sharing
Regarding Emily Kempson’s paintings, I really only have a couple of things to say. First and foremost, I recommend that Ms. Kempson remember to respect the viewer. This has little to do with her actual artwork. Rather, I am focusing on the fact she spelled out (literally) what she intends to make us see and feel. Part of her display was a series of four large scale painting titled, as a group, across the top "Four Responses to an Offense". They also included individual subtitles: "Self Blame," "Justice," "Mercy" and "Revenge". Yes, spelled out in big black letters under each painting were these words. Thanks, Emily, I got it. Believe me, I was able to see that in each respective painting… without the words. In the future, remember, the moment you hang your work publicly, it is more about the viewer than it is about you. Let us gratify ourselves by allowing us to figure it out. It is far more powerful to show and not tell.
One of the real treasures of art is that a single piece can be and/or mean different things for different people. When a piece is labeled with a distinct emotion, the viewer is robbed of his or her own interpretation. Trust that the work says what you want it to say, but also trust the viewer will see it for himself.
About the artwork: Kempson focuses primarily on the human figure (strangely, the image she chose for the show card – although her best – was very much unlike all the others she hung). Pleasant structure in each piece, but nothing over the top. She uses dynamic modeling and plenty of symbols to tell her story. Clearly, a lot of thought and emotion went into the creation of each piece.
Matt Kleberg – And Also With You
More portraits this week! This time they were small. Kleberg executes his paintings with a nice style and top-rate craftsmanship. I particularly liked the flat, angular brushstrokes which add to the sense of artistic drama. However, I’m not sure if Kleberg’s strong color palette lends itself to each portrait. Is color used simply for the sake of using it, or as a design element, or (like the Fauvists) is it used to convey a sense of emotion? If color is used to convey emotion, its success will have to be determined by his individual sitters. Portraiture tends to be such a personal genre – made even more so by the intimate scale of many of Kleberg’s paintings. Kleberg admits to this in his written statement:
As a painter, I look to portraiture as one way to honor relationships that teach me, challenge me, and refresh me… [M]y desire is to use color and mark making to illustrate the richness of each subject’s identity, while the smaller scale of many of the works welcomes close inspection.
Due to the kaleidoscopic use of color, my first reaction was to compare it all to Matisse’s 1905 portrait of his wife titled
"The Green Line" (pictured right). With this in mind, Kleberg’s portraits were derivative. But I shook that. After looking a bit longer at the collection, they did become more personal. Tenderness and a genuine sense of caring by the artist shone through. I credit Kleberg’s painterly technique for this.
The good news is that Kleberg’s portraits were not hung with last week’s exhibit of James Dean Erickson’s oversized portraits on cardboard. A comparison would have been unavoidable and unfair to both artists.
Camila M. Rivera-Morales – I’m So (Maybe) Sorry
Camila Rivera Morales exhibited two different bodies of work in the show. One, her aluminum lithographs (printed on a waxed paper, I believe), were particular strong abstracts. Primarily monochromatic, they felt like highly refined yet dreamy Rorschach ink blots. After giving up trying to find any identifiable images caught in the layers, I was able to relax and simply enjoy the lightness and balance of each piece.
Rivera-Morales also exhibited handmade books. First were small story books. They were cute and engaging, but, ultimately, they did not hold my attention for more than the first couple of minutes (alas, I should blame myself for that). The other book exhibited was much more substantial. A small label implored the viewer to take the time and read the whole thing. Since I had a chunk of time and found the physical texture of the cover and pages pleasing in my hands, I gave it a whirl. I got through the forward and well into the following pages. Despite claiming that she is no journal writer rather a "list maker," I found her lists to be daily journals – plain and simple. Standard rants and thoughts of a college student. I put the book down.
Her statement poses some moderately simple questions:
Can you react to something personal in an impersonal setting?... Can you and I relate here?... Is this about me or about you?
From my experiences, I can safely say, absolutely, I often react to something personal in an impersonal setting. And, yes, we should be able to relate with one another through your art. But, Cami, your journal is so clearly about you and not me (or any one else). There is no doubt in my mind that some day your journal will have a tremendous amount of value. To whom… I don’t know.
After leaving the exhibit, I felt like I had been beaten over the head. Too much was spelled out (literally) leaving very little to discover or appreciate on my own. A little subtlety would have gone a long way.
"One of the real treasures of art is that a single piece can be and/or mean different things for different people. When a piece is labeled with a distinct emotion, the viewer is robbed of his or her own interpretation. Trust that the work says what you want it to say, but also trust the viewer will see it for himself."
Bravo--and amen, too!
Posted by: Foust | April 23, 2008 at 01:42 PM
Throughout the world there is an axiom: Those who can do. Those who can't teach. I would add:Those who can do neither become critics. I hope that at least one of these artists will save this critique to share when they are receiving raves. BTW - artists title their work to lead the viewer. It is up to the viewer to make alternative interpretations.
Posted by: D. Edward | July 07, 2009 at 02:43 PM