Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Do You Speak "Figures"?

The May 19th opening of Translations' new show, Figuratively Speaking brought together a fantastic group of artists working in media from sculpture and painting to mosaic and charcoal drawing.



The only real criteria for the work, as the show's title might suggest, is that it be based on figures - needless to say, the range of pieces the show contains is quite broad, allowing the featured artists to stand out for their individual styles.


The opening was a very pleasant combination of beautiful work and good company - there was also a lot of delicious food there, which certainly contributed to the collective good mood (as snacks always do).


People came and went happily throughout the evening, drinking mint juleps and trying to shove other people out of the way of their view of the artwork.


Several of the show's featured artists attended the opening as well, giving people the chance to speak with them about their work.

(Artist Brian Curran discussing his work - or his education or his car or his childhood - anyway he was discussing something).

The "figure" pieces varied wildly, from abstract to concrete, black and white to color. The wide array of styles - Brian Curran's beautifully rendered charcoal portraits hanging next to Lance Green's colorful, fluid, slightly abstracted paintings and Sandhi Schimmel Gold's mixed media mosaics - somehow all seemed to fit together, their differences enhancing the best qualities of each artist's work.



(And an abundance of mint juleps never hurts a sense of cohesion either).

Monday, May 9, 2011

25 Years of Lance Green (Figuratively Speaking)

Lance Green, one of Translations Gallery's newer artists, currently has a retrospective exhibition showcasing 25 years of his paintings, drawings and sculpture on display in Manitou Springs. The show celebrates Green's artistic evolution, beginning with his childhood in Los Angeles and traveling through his life as an artist, ending up at his current life and work in Colorado. To complement the show, Green will also be giving an art talk at the Business of Art Center's Venue 515 on May 11. The show, titled Bringing it All Back Home runs through mid-June, and leads right into Translations Gallery's upcoming show Figuratively Speaking, which will also feature work by Green as well as other artists represented by the gallery.
Lance Green, from Bringing it All Back Home

Figuratively Speaking will, as the show's title suggests, focus on sculptural pieces, paintings and other media with an emphasis on figure and form - one of the cornerstones of Green's work, which often reinterprets images taken from painful stages of life as new and beautiful objects.
Lance Green, Street Dancer #3

Lance Green, Icarus Dreaming