PMA Biennial exhibit is a diverse delight
PMA Biennial exhibit is a diverse delight
By Pat Davidson Reef, Special to the Sun Journal
February 6, 2018
PORTLAND — A bright spot to keep you warm in Maine this cold winter is the 2018 Biennial Art Exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art. Don’t miss it. Like a burst of light, this exhibit will stimulate those who see it. The color and warmth in it lifted me immediately.
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Driskell leads the way with his abstract compositions on view as you walk into the exhibition. He works in encaustics, an ancient medium involving creation of a wax coating and collage over painted surfaces. Driskell is a master of that medium.
Looking at “Girl with Sunflowers,” we see semi-abstract forms of nature surrounding a woman’s face. The symbols of green leaves and yellow sunflowers give a feeling of hope and serenity to the work, but the woman’s face remains a mystery and does not look totally happy. Driskell’s work leaves us to wonder about her.
All great art inspires a sense of wonder and Driskell’s art has that special quality. “I like to use encaustics because it allows me to connect with ancient methods of painting,” Driskell said in an interview. “I can use it as a transparent medium to glaze my surfaces. It also preserves my work. Some of the paintings done in ancient Egypt used encaustics — a mixture of damar — which comes from pine tree resin — varnish, wax and dry pigment. Heat is used for a fusion of the mixture. The heat seals it,” Driskell said.
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Daniel Minter’s work titled “A Distant Holla,” is a spectacular installation piece, taking up one whole wall in the center of the exhibit. Carved wood and found objects are assembled in overlapping patterns like images coming to surface from a mystical experience. “I am working toward a practice where every piece of my work is created in different layers and layers. The notion that all things are connected is important to me,” Minter said in the exhibit catalogue.
Read the rest of the article here: https://www.sunjournal.com/2018/02/06/pma-biennial-exhibit-is-a-diverse-delight/
“A Distant Holla,” by Daniel Minter