Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Craft Plaques - Teasers




Carla Knopp will use Dewclaw as a studio for July & August, and will open on First Fridays 6 - 9 pm, Saturdays, 12 -4 pm, and by appointment.

*Update: 8-2-12   The craft studio lasted through opening night and half-way through Saturday. Then I did a total take-down amidst a near melt-down. I'd been struggling and waffling about this work, and finally made the decision to excise it from my oeuvre. It could come back, but I feel good about recommitting to my core aesthetic directions, which involve exploration in the magical two-dimensional realm. This field and path of thought is meandering enough to yield infinite discoveries. This 3-d direction is simply too distracting, and felt like it stymied more deeply engaged discoveries. 






Dewclaw is pleased to present "Timbre: Brian Fick", a selection of paintings from the past 10 years. This exhibition includes a large group of previously undisplayed work. Show opens with a reception on IDADA First Friday, June 1, 6 - 9pm. (A second reception will be held Wednesday, June 13, 6-9 pm). 
 
Brian explores quirks of concept and imagery, often by combining unlikely sensibilities. He creates landscapes with gestural abandon, to which he may add rigid historic ornamentation, or impossibly wobbled structures. Goofball twit meets esoteric wit, and campy metaphors harbor more serious undertones. Brian roams beyond normal expectations.

Brian has formatted these paintings for modular display. They are to hang as an installation of interchangeable paintings, forming single gridded conglomerations. Each panel is framed in mock-traditionl motif, with playfully painted arabesque decoration and a wood biscuit "title plate". This uniformity in arrangement is a perfect foil to the exuberant explorations with each painting.
The works are also united by a more subtle commonality. A characteristic tone or timbre runs throughout one's work. This exhibition seeks to underscore that which defines our individual consciousness. Brian offers quite varied expressions within his innovative methods of painting. This series of work also reveal the nature of an individual psyche, as it moves through time, space, and experience.
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Brian is an artist of longstanding local reputation in Indianapolis, having produced and exhibited paintings continuously from 1985 to present. His work is in the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Public Library, Eli Lilly & Co, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. He received a BFA from Herron School of Art & Design in 1985, was a founding member of 431 Gallery and served as its president in 1988. He was project coordinator for "Herron Goes Public", which featured 7 floors of installations at the Goodman Quad in 1985. He co-owns Acanthus Arts, an architectural painting and historical restoration company, which has completed restoration projects on The Library of Congress, the United States Capitol, the Birch Bayh Federal Courthouse, and various other buildings across the U.S. and abroad.