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I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting works from my Unreal Spaces series at Imagebox. Opening in October, I’ll be exhibiting the newest work from this series. Hope you can make it for the reception on October 1.

Unreal Spaces series
Recent Works by Susan Constanse
October 1 – 29, 2010
Opening reception: Friday, October 1, 2010: 7-10PM
The show is available for viewing during the opening reception, all other times by appointment only. Contact Susan Constanse at susanconstanse@gmail.com to set up a meeting.
Imagebox
4933 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
(412) 441-0930

Artist Statement
Unreal Spaces series

I am a habitual pedestrian, using public transportation only for journeys further than two miles. In my walks through the neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, I became very aware of the structure of the streets, with its triangle blocks, breezeways and alleys. The streets echo back to the birth of the city, when pathways evolved along the contours of the land, seeking always the path of least resistance. The city has an organic quality to its structure, with houses and buildings evolving and decaying in their use and function. Much of the architecture has strange, almost purposeless, features.

The geography implied in Unreal Spaces references the architecture and contours of Pittsburgh. The works do not reflect a physical landscape but are a recording of foot travel and its purpose; an abstract auto-geography. As I travel between my home and various points around my city, I am fully engaged, taking the time to observe building facades and the odd corners and spaces between structures.
The paintings take several sessions over the course of a month. In this respect, the works are like a portrait, not of a moment but of a time span. The difference between a portrait and a photograph is just this distinction; that the artist records their observations over a period of time, providing a denser and more meaningful representation.

Light features highly in the work, specifically referenced in adding dimension and depth through veils, shafts and implied reflection. Palette, which is a subtle and complex vocabulary, is integral to my work. Color, in all of its values, provides a way of creating a subtext within individual works.

I am influenced by the design and color characteristics explored by painters like Klee and Kandinsky. Klee’s compositions and palette are emotionally orchestrated, implying movement and space beyond the confines of the individual works. Kandinsky is a master at reconciling objective and non-objective elements.

Materials
Paintings. The paint is applied in thin layers, building from broad foundations to greater complexity in color and in hand. The paintings are allowed to mature and are finished with Dammar varnish.
Works on paper. The works on paper allow a casual exploration of themes and materials.

Oil on reclaimed canvas
30″ x48″

An aside: this work was very challenging. I used an oil stick to establish the background texture. The red is a true cad red, very dense and opaque.

Drink & Draw | Tuesday August 31
Upstairs @ 6:30PM | $10

What have we been up to? find out on the drink and draw blog

drink & draw meets on the last Tuesday of each month. Sessions will start at 6:30pm.
Drink and Draw
is an open studio live model drawing session that meets every other Tuesday on the second floor of brillobox, located at 4104 penn ave, pittsburgh, pa. This session is relaxed, surprising, and inspiring. amazing models dressed in various themes, old timey music, great company, and decor. All mediums, except oils, welcome.

drink and draw
brillobox
4104 penn ave
412.621.4900

Oil on canvas

A very unique shop has opened in Polish Hill. Urban Gypsy offers a variety of art and artifacts, all with unique character. Te small shop offers art by some of my old favorites, like JR Holtz –

I thought that the selection of Brian James Gonnella’s panda’s were very sweet, too –

The shop has some lovely handcrafted and vintage wearable ornaments, too.  The display itself, along with the rest of the shop, is very appealing.

Stop in and say hello.

Urban Gypsy
3101 Brereton St.
Pittsburgh PA 15219

From Box Heart’s site:
“Joren Dykstra’s current work centers around two series of paintings:  “Grid” paintings, in which the picture plane is divided into multiple squares, and “Synthetic Collage” paintings, which are random in their overall composition.”

The works Mr. Dykstra is presenting are very energetic, destroying the static designation of “grid”. The line and color fairly explode from the canvases. The grid makes cursory appearances in these works, disappearing and re-surfacing in broken lines. The motifs that Mr. Dykstra uses are consistent in size, lending themselves to a kind of calligraphy that begs to be read.

Mr. Dykstra’s recent works are available for viewing at Box Heart Gallery through August 14. Kudos to the gallery for putting up a strong solo in a month usually dedicated to group exhibits.

Recent Work: Paintings by Joren Dykstra
July 20 – August 14, 2010
Box Heart Gallery
4523 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
P. 412 687 8858, boxheartexpress@earthlink.net
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 10 AM – 6 PM, Sunday: 1 PM – 5 PM

Oil on canvas

While I was out and about in Polish Hill this past weekend for the Polish Hill Arts Festival, I spent a couple hours watching the works of local filmmakers at Gooski’s. The PostApocalyptic Movie Theater is an installation of works curated by Jessica Fenlon. A portable and changing installation, the work is meant to be seen on walls that have their own character.

Ms. Fenlon did present one of her own works at the events, which I found very beautiful and compelling. Flight was scored by a live band at a screening in Pittsburgh. The work is richly layered, the color is other worldly.

For this installation, Ms. Fenlon chose works from her library of local filmmakers that ranged from narrative to abstract. Works by Matt Wellins, Ben Hernstrom, and Jessica Fenlon were represented in the event at Gooski’s.

Clip from Flight, by Jessica Fenlon

The Crown of Appalachia/Book of Life exhibit opened at Panza Gallery a couple weeks ago. I was pleased to attend the opening reception on July 3; a great addition to the holiday weekend. The exhibit is a solo presentation of two bodies of work from David Grim. The work is beautifully installed, giving both paths of exploration sufficient space. The one consistency between both bodies is their reference to journaling.

David Grim has been working on his Book of Life for the last few years. He has been carrying the same phone book to various life drawing sessions, recording the human figure on its pages with his pen. For this exhibit, the works from the phone book were scanned and printed out and mounted in one large installation. Some of the original works from a related series were framed and another two were presented as light pieces. Mr. Grim worked on this series with a very stringent set of parameters, using only pen and drawing only in the phone book. All of the drawings in the book of life are line drawings, forcing an exploration of the various expressive qualities of line. It is a compelling journey.

Crown of Appalachia is Mr. Grim’s alter, Merge Divide. The blog was begun in January 2010. Each post is accompanied by an image, reflective of events and places in the Pittsburgh region. The images range from narrative to abstract, but maintain a consistency of color and value.

Artist Statements:

David Grim-
Inspired by a childhood escape from religious conversion, The Book of Life presents the opportunity for me to reclaim the act of creation from an externalized “other”. Based on the concept of a holy tome containing the names of all those saved from eternal damnation, this project seeks to render humanity in its purest of form- defenseless and open. The intention of the displayed product is to raise questions regarding authority, transience, privacy, and the relationship between the artist and his subject.

Merge Divide-
Convinced that Pittsburgh is the figurative “Crown” of a vast tract of America marked by the Appalachians, I decided to commemorate my travels throughout the region with an online presence, including words and images. This marks my initial foray into the sense of a partially imaginary place that may indeed exist. I mean to convey the weird netherworld quality of this area in sociological and alchemical terms.

Crown of Appalachia/Book of Life
Through July 31, 2010
Saturday July 31- Closing Party (6-9PM)
Panza Gallery
115 Sedgwick Street in Millvale, PA.
412.821.0959
Hours: Wed.Thurs.Fri.10-5 Sat10-3