No Wonderland in Winter is a group exhibition on the theme of landscape and snow. The exhibition was conceived on the idea that winter is a time capsule of desolation, decay, discomfort, isolation, frost, obscurity, death and stillness. The eight artists presented all work in distinct mediums -be it paint (Joel Adas, Jessica Weiss), computer animation and film (Jillian Mcdonald), line drawing (Sascha Mallon), photography (Andrew Garn,
Vanina Feldsztein, Stephen Mallon) or clay (Michelle Sholtis).
Working in relative small scale, the paintings of Joel Adas convey an immediate sense of intimacy and familiarity. The artist often presents a fragment of an expanse of scenery. The remainder of the landscape imagery is for the viewer to conceptualize. There is an effortless simplicity that emanates from Mr. Adas’ meticulous paintings and in this his work
always seems fresh and free of precepts of conventionality.
Artificial winterscapes are the subject of the Film-Sets series of Vanina Feldsztein. Ms. Feldsztein has been involved in the film industry for several years. Her conjuring photographs illustrate man-made sets and maquettes. Minute details unmask the
deceptive landscapes. This is the first time Ms. Feldsztein photographs are exhibited at the A.M. Richard gallery.
Andrew Garn, has been documenting the direct consequences of seasonal elements on trees for several years. His photograph, Night Snow Flake and Tree , is a quasi scientific slide view of magnified snowflakes. Through Mr. Garn’s perspective, a familiar sight set in an urban environment, the ubiguitous sidewalk tree, is morphed into an otherworldly abstract rendering. Mr. Garn is the author of numerous publications, his latest, Exit to Tomorrow, was published by Rizzoli in the fall of 2007.
Sascha Mallon presents a surrealistic narrative in her large scale drawing, Winterland. In the tradition of automatism, no line is straight. The free-flowing composition is crowded with a multitude of dark vignettes set in what appears to be a cross-section of an ant colony. Each section telling a story, each connected, disconnected and entwined through a swirl of images emanating from tubes, slides, and various organic forms.
Snowball factories, small atrophied creatures (some racing on skis) and mounts of curious flakes and machines people Ms.Mallon’s disturbing interpretation of winter. Snowfalls blanket natural landscapes in white, the only disturbance to this plain color field is intervention of the human kind i.e. power driven machines, man-made artificial habitats.
Stephen Mallon’s photographs, Trailer and 3 Trailers ,were shot in the otherwise bucolic Alpine region of Grundelsee (Austria.) For the past 15 years, Mr. Mallon has been traveling with his camera with the intent to capture the diversity and essence of evolving world landscapes.
Conceptual situations in an artic landscape are communicated through the inter-active electronic language of Jillian Mcdonald√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s, Snow Stories. The artist uses appropriated and original film clips, images, animation, and sound to translate the viewer’s written story into a visual narrative. Snow Stories was produced in 2005 in residence at Harvestworks in New York, with additional funding from The Canada Council for the Arts, The
Experimental Television Center, and Pace University. Snow Stories was previously exhibited in New Data at Harvestworks, NYC; FILE (Festival of Electronic Language) in Brazil; and Fringe Exhibitions in L.A. Michelle Sholtis is a ceramic sculptor. Her inspiration is anchored in nature’s numerous cycles of decay and renewal. Ms. Sholtis uses traditional ceramic techniques of pinch pots and coiling to create subtly stylized porcelains. Ms. Sholtis lives in New York. This is the first time her work is shown at the A.M. Richard gallery.
A deciduous forest in winter is interpreted in the paintings of Jessica Weiss. Having long worked with vintage wallpaper as primary source material, Ms. Weiss here breaks away from her traditional means of using ready-made print as a basis to her intricate compositions. Hand-torn flakes of wallpaper are now applied over a silkscreen matrix and a layer of bright paint to create works with subtle relief. The paper flakes, gently adhered to the surface, give an effect of light and movement. The forests, depicted in the three exhibited canvases, appear to breathe, as a soft wind drifts through close knit trees.
