Objects/Objectivity places non-representational sculptural objects made by Maine artists George Mason, Jonathan Mess, and Oliver Solmitz in conversation with each other. The materials are diverse, and the dialogue fascinating.
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GEORGE MASON: I am asking whether the visual inquiry can be a relational vehicle that builds community and honors place. I am noting that putting work in unlikely places affords the audience opportunities for an utterly fresh response. I am seeing that light and shadow, color and texture can nourish without telling a story. I am suspecting the object may not be the 'art'.
I create conditions/experiments that I then follow with great curiosity. This appears to involve 'listening' and following the thread of what is observed. The materials I experiment with include plaster, clay, burlap, pigment, casein paint, and encaustic. Light, shadow, texture and relief, and the primacy of gravity continue to capture my attention.
JONATHAN MESS: My recent work has involved several series that visually and metaphorically reference land, maps, strata, geology, and geography. Process and its evidence have emerged as an essential aspect of this work.
My artwork is characterized by experimental abstraction using reclaimed ceramic materials and referencing natural land forms, constantly pushing my materials and processes into new territory. I have developed a low-waste making system by collecting discarded ceramic materials and recycling them into new forms.
OLIVER SOLMITZ: Rather than object or volume, my three dimensional work explores qualities of space defined by structure and color, revealed by light.
I embrace the tension found between modern materials that reflect a machine-based aesthetic with construction allowing evidence of the human hand. Yet, my two-dimensional investigations allow far greater looseness. This is the counterpoint to my designed and fabricated process, while all my research is informed by an architecture education. In a world filled with conflict, my work celebrates the peace that artistic duality can achieve.
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