“Soft & Hard” at Trestle Gallery

“Soft & Hard” features works by Oliver Bell, Georgia Elrod, Meredith Hoffheins, and Rossana Martinez. These artists explore the human body and landscape using different visual narratives.

The dancer and choreographer, Martha Graham famously proclaimed: “the body never lies”, and these four artists present textural experiences of softness and hardness simultaneously through sculpture, video, drawing, and painting.

Oliver Bell’s video work has roots in documentary. On view is “Adobe on Adobe” which was first shown at The Paseo Art Festival in New Mexico. This work is reconfigured to project on the unique architecture of the gallery. In the video, hands of an expert craftsperson control wet mud to create a layered texture.

Georgia Elrod’s recent paintings interpret bodily functions, while questioning our understanding of the human interior. Anatomical scenes are created with both hard edges and brushy strokes, leading to unidentifiable body parts, layers, and shifts in perspective. Her ink drawings serve as maps for her larger works.

Meredith Hoffheins paints imagery such as fences and water features inside lush smooth landscapes. The absence of figures pulls the viewer in and locates them inside the fantasized structures consisting of geometric and natural forms. Her internal landscapes are visceral unrealities that describe places between imaginary and real experience.

Rossana Martinez has made prints, photography, video and sculpture showing the relationship of the body to the earth. Martinez is showing one of her works from her “It Keeps My Heart and Soul in Its Place” series with dark blue glass beads. The spine is suspended from the gallery walls and is close to scale. It asks the viewer to contemplate the articulation of the vertebrae form.

The exhibition is curated by Melissa Staiger, 2016 Curator-in-Residence at Trestle Projects. For more information or images contact trestleprojects@gmail.com

Trestle Gallery develops exhibition and educational programming with the goal of supporting local artists, curators, and educators and reach a greater community. Trestle Gallery was founded in 2012.

The name “Trestle” came from a type of structure built to pass over obstacles. Like its namesake, the gallery was designed to be a support for artists and curators, providing opportunities for them to exhibit work, network, and learn from each other.

Trestle Gallery and its satellite location, Trestle Projects, host 20-30 exhibitions each year. Since 2012, Trestle has showcased the work of over 500 local and international contemporary artists from over 35 countries. Trestle welcomes over 6,500 visitors annually.

Trestle Projects
400 3rd Ave, Fl 2nd, Brooklyn, New York 11215

Opens Thursday from 7-9pm