Valery Rizzo @ http://www.valeryrizzo.com/

Wonder Wheel, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 2007

Valery Rizzo @ http://www.valeryrizzo.com/

Pin-Up Girls, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 2007

Lara Wechsler @ http://www.larawechsler.com

Sprinkler Fun

Lara Wechsler @ http://www.larawechsler.com

Flying

John Tebeau @ http://www.tebeau.com

Nathan’s

John Tebeau @ http://www.tebeau.com

Summer Grill

Artist Statement

My current work concerns technology and the interpretation of data that exists in the inaccessible, invisible systems that surround us. For
Cell Phone Painting #1 , I established a website which collected the cell phone numbers of willing participants. On a specified date and time, users text messaged painting instructions which were then executed by a painter. The users had never met one another and were not aware of the content of the other messages. Essentially, I coordinated a networked performance of anonymous individuals.

The final product, a documentation of the text messages, exists in three forms: a list of directions, a video loop of the creation of the painting, and the painting itself, which acts as an indexical reference to the directions. In the list of directions, you’ll notice how the constraints of cell phone technology distort language, offering evidence of a lingua franca not just facilitated but created by our essential communicative devices. In the painting, the painter’s interpretation from text to image is clearly displayed. Since instructions, interpretation, and documentation are exhibited using different mediums, the essence of each medium is suggested.

Website

http://jonathanvingiano.com/

title: relativity-6
medium: Japanese pigment/metal-leaf/sumi-ink on wood panel
dimension: h60” w24”

title: vicissitude
2009
medium: collagraph
dimension: about h24” w36”

title: relativity-twisty
2008-2009
medium: PAINTING(Japanese pigment/metal-leaf/sumi-ink on canvas)
dimension: h8” w10”

Artist Statement

I was born in 1978 and raised in Japan. After obtaining a BFA at Tama Art University in Japanese Painting Fine Arts in 2005, I moved to New York City 2007.

I have been studying Painting since I was a child under the instruction of a private teacher. During this time, I was passionate about many kinds of art, such as mixed media, printmaking, collage, sculpture and glass. More recently, as my artistic abilities have further developed, I have focused my energies on painting, printmaking and sculpture. The theme of my art is “HUMAN FEELING: emotional life.” The roots of my art lies in organic abstraction – I am fascinated by human emotions – for example, hope, sadness, confusion and love. I am also particularly interested in the relationships or connections that exist in our minds between ideas and images such as color, sound, rhythm and movement.

My artwork is based on a traditional Japanese painting method. Primarily, I work with Sumi ink, pigments and metal leaf (gold, silver, copper and aluminum). Even when working with a two-dimensional work, I strive to create rich textures, reflection and space by using many layers of ink, metal leaf and pigment thus allowing me to capture the feeling of a three-dimensional piece. As a result of this process of layering materials, I have been able to create interesting surfaces and textures. Another important aspect in my artwork is the composition of metal which creates shifting colors. The fact that metal can change color on its own as time goes by compliments the theme of my work.

Website

http://www.mariatanikawa.com/

Good Morning Universe, 8×9.5″, 2009

Brave New World, 8×9″ 2008

Broken World, 8×9″, 2008

Stream, 10×10″, 2008

Artist Statement

I am drawn to everyday objects that are often overlooked or discarded. Using a wide range of disciplines, I transform the materials into small works. With a modern primitive style I balance the positive and negative space that gives a piece a sense of beauty. Taking an unorthodox approach I embellish the surface of my work with steel nails and apply tiny circles to explore nature and its relationship with the synthetic.

Website

http://www.steveriley.artlogsites.com/

May 30 & 31 (Saturday and Sunday) noon - 6 p.m.

Visit the wonders of Red Hook - buy strangely named furniture at Ikea, shop for groceries at Fairway, eat delicious food at the Red Hook Ballpark, and SEE FANTASTIC ARTWORK.

More details at http://brooklynstudiotour.com/

SEASCAPES
The seascapes are a series titled “Anywhere But Here”. The series consists of 436 different scenes.  The water is actually 1/8″ thick pieces of clear, vacuum-formed plastic.  The varied molded forms create the wave structure. The water color is created by placing layers of acetate underneath the plastic.  The coloring and sky are created with lights and backdrops.  The entire construction is eight inches square. I shot the scenes with a 35 mm camera using a macro lens.  I chose to shoot this small film size so that the image would be grainy when enlarged. The photograph then literally breaks down.  This is intended to reinforce the idea that the image is a simulation.  They have been shown singularly and as installations of between 1,113 and 2,712 images mounted to walls (each photo is 4″ x 6″).

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Postcards, billboards and magazines instill in us a desire to be physically and emotionally transported to “a better place”.  We see digitally enhanced, perfectly-lit and styled homes, gardens and people. These commercial images are merely representations, completely unattainable. These constructions are meant to instill longing in the viewer.

I, too, create such non-places: images that appear real, but are, in fact, simulations. I construct images of locales, persons and lifestyles. My work is meant to isolate and emphasize the desire for the other, which is, in the end, just a creation. The viewer is left to consider this cycle of desire and dissatisfaction.

We peruse decorating and travel magazines, read adventure travel stories and scan billboards. These things instill in us a desire to have and/or be somewhere else, someone else, but some place where all our wants may be fulfilled.

Born:Chicago, 1970.
Lives and works in Brooklyn.

EDUCATION
MFA-Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI(1995)
B.A-DePauw University, Greencastle, IN (1992)
Parson’s School of Design, Paris, France (summer 1991)
Essex University, Essex, England (1990-91)

WEBSITE
http://www.karenconnell.com