Off the Grid
Christopher Beane I Vincent Dion I Jay Kelly I Juan Miguel Palacios I Evan Venegas I Sandra Vucicevic I Jim Watt
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 11, 6-8pm
AHA Underground
@ Jim Kempner Fine Art - 501 West 23rd St. NYC
On view: April 11 - May 11, 2024
Press Release
Christopher Beane is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and has a background in portrait and figurative photography. Through work in New York City’s bright and offbeat flower market, Beane became obsessed with the botanical. Beginning with traditional, abstract and black & white compositions in the 1990s, Beane’s early works make reference to a number of noted photographers but also reveal how he developed his own eye for presenting unusual floral shapes and textures. Beane’s color work is truly his own: creative and evocative in a manner unlike what one typically finds in the sensual photography of pistils and stamens and pretty petals. In his representations you find more abstract emotion, perhaps evoking flames and mysterious sea creatures... as well as gasp-worthy ultra macro depictions of familiar subjects. Beane deconstructs and reinvents his approach and summons up entirely new perspectives, new ways to infuse form with color. His more formal flower portraits, on darker grounds, play with a reduced color palette in an entirely new way and remain true to the subject in their more subdued presentation.
Christopher Beane is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and has a background in portrait and figurative photography. Through work in New York City’s bright and offbeat flower market, Beane became obsessed with the botanical. Beginning with traditional, abstract and black & white compositions in the 1990s, Beane’s early works make reference to a number of noted photographers but also reveal how he developed his own eye for presenting unusual floral shapes and textures. Beane’s color work is truly his own: creative and evocative in a manner unlike what one typically finds in the sensual photography of pistils and stamens and pretty petals. In his representations you find more abstract emotion, perhaps evoking flames and mysterious sea creatures... as well as gasp-worthy ultra macro depictions of familiar subjects. Beane deconstructs and reinvents his approach and summons up entirely new perspectives, new ways to infuse form with color. His more formal flower portraits, on darker grounds, play with a reduced color palette in an entirely new way and remain true to the subject in their more subdued presentation.
Vincent Dion
"Color is a constant memory trigger for me. My use of luminous color becomes my means to ascertain form through memory balancing and reconciling the contradiction of making work that is both peaceful and energetic. By controlling the medium with an image in mind and simultaneously submitting to the mercurial nature of reconciling spontaneous actions, the discipline of my formal process demonstrates energy at sober and variable speed.
My works on paper are executed in various water-media in a painterly style resulting in the appearance of cavitation with uncertain scale. My painted forms resemble the use of various printed techniques and can look mechanically produced. The unlikely companionship of my methods and materials results is a surprising collision."
Vincent Dion
"Color is a constant memory trigger for me. My use of luminous color becomes my means to ascertain form through memory balancing and reconciling the contradiction of making work that is both peaceful and energetic. By controlling the medium with an image in mind and simultaneously submitting to the mercurial nature of reconciling spontaneous actions, the discipline of my formal process demonstrates energy at sober and variable speed.
My works on paper are executed in various water-media in a painterly style resulting in the appearance of cavitation with uncertain scale. My painted forms resemble the use of various printed techniques and can look mechanically produced. The unlikely companionship of my methods and materials results is a surprising collision."
Vincent Dion
Jay Kelly was born in 1961 and received his B.A. from Syracuse University in 1983. Originally a photorealist painter, Kelly shifted his focus towards abstraction in the late 1990s. Moving away from his remarkably rendered realist paintings, Kelly’s practice evolved into a completely anti-representational body of work. Calling to mind the work of Martin Puryear, Paul Klee, Alexander Calder, and Tim Burton, the work’s clean lines and minimal aesthetic also allude to 20th century modernist architecture and furniture.
Jay Kelly was born in 1961 and received his B.A. from Syracuse University in 1983. Originally a photorealist painter, Kelly shifted his focus towards abstraction in the late 1990s. Moving away from his remarkably rendered realist paintings, Kelly’s practice evolved into a completely anti-representational body of work. Calling to mind the work of Martin Puryear, Paul Klee, Alexander Calder, and Tim Burton, the work’s clean lines and minimal aesthetic also allude to 20th century modernist architecture and furniture.
"Although my work throughout my professional career as a visual artist has been primarily figurative, it has always carried a strong conceptual load. Developed in series, my work consistently explores the individual's identity and its relationship with the environment, addressing themes and concepts such as mourning and grief for losses, restlessness in the face of opulence and wealth, and inequality and abuse. One of the fundamental
characteristics of my work is the constant need for change, both conceptually and formally, evident in the diversity of materials with which I develop my pictorial work. In my paintings, I use surfaces ranging from the superimposition of transparent layers of
vinyl or acrylic sheets, which generate a 3D effect, to the use of drywall panels that I break, burn, and paint, creating a dimensionality in my paintings close to sculpture. In recent years, I have returned to using more conventional materials such as acrylic and oil paint and traditional canvas. There has also been a notable shift towards abstraction, becoming the theoretical and conceptual core of my work, reflecting, pushing and redefining the boundaries between abstraction and figurative representation." -
Juan Miguel Palacios
"Although my work throughout my professional career as a visual artist has been primarily figurative, it has always carried a strong conceptual load. Developed in series, my work consistently explores the individual's identity and its relationship with the environment, addressing themes and concepts such as mourning and grief for losses, restlessness in the face of opulence and wealth, and inequality and abuse. One of the fundamental
characteristics of my work is the constant need for change, both conceptually and formally, evident in the diversity of materials with which I develop my pictorial work. In my paintings, I use surfaces ranging from the superimposition of transparent layers of
vinyl or acrylic sheets, which generate a 3D effect, to the use of drywall panels that I break, burn, and paint, creating a dimensionality in my paintings close to sculpture. In recent years, I have returned to using more conventional materials such as acrylic and oil paint and traditional canvas. There has also been a notable shift towards abstraction, becoming the theoretical and conceptual core of my work, reflecting, pushing and redefining the boundaries between abstraction and figurative representation." -
Juan Miguel Palacios
As a New York-based artist, I use imagery that is loosely based on the industrial landscape that surrounds me. My creative process is rooted in the recognizable world but expressed by abstract shapes and vibrant colors. Painting began for me as a way to improvise and organize what was in my mind. Seeing my inner dialogue reflected on paper heightened my self-awareness and I wanted to share this experience with others. I seek to create an experience or a state of mind for the viewer that inspires a change in perception or a focused consciousness. On a technical basis I am constantly fine tuning and exploring what shapes, colors, and scale best allow for this type of experience—With my Lost Grid series the shapes in my work are individual pieces of a puzzle, laid out for the viewer’s imagination to create and assemble an experience that is unique and personal. Human anatomy, car parts, faces, teacups, architecture, and letters are all objects that viewers have described seeing in some of my pieces but there is no right or wrong answer; as an artist I enjoy the process and helping start inner and outer dialogue." - Evan Venegas
As a New York-based artist, I use imagery that is loosely based on the industrial landscape that surrounds me. My creative process is rooted in the recognizable world but expressed by abstract shapes and vibrant colors. Painting began for me as a way to improvise and organize what was in my mind. Seeing my inner dialogue reflected on paper heightened my self-awareness and I wanted to share this experience with others. I seek to create an experience or a state of mind for the viewer that inspires a change in perception or a focused consciousness. On a technical basis I am constantly fine tuning and exploring what shapes, colors, and scale best allow for this type of experience—With my Lost Grid series the shapes in my work are individual pieces of a puzzle, laid out for the viewer’s imagination to create and assemble an experience that is unique and personal. Human anatomy, car parts, faces, teacups, architecture, and letters are all objects that viewers have described seeing in some of my pieces but there is no right or wrong answer; as an artist I enjoy the process and helping start inner and outer dialogue." - Evan Venegas
The major inspiration behind my artwork is the concept of the ambiguous nature of reality. I have always been intrigued by dreams and how they challenge the boundaries of the world we perceive. Do familiar objects and scenes conceal a secret dimension, a different existence, a new meaning?
My current work consists of a series of abstract paintings that express my vision of the “blurry” zone that separates the two realities – the Known and the Unknown. I play with lines and expressive strokes of vibrant colors which overlap and merge into each other until they create the impression of such a zone. In this sense, the “in-betweenness,” transition, and multi-dimensionality are the key concepts of my work." - Sandra Vucicevic
The major inspiration behind my artwork is the concept of the ambiguous nature of reality. I have always been intrigued by dreams and how they challenge the boundaries of the world we perceive. Do familiar objects and scenes conceal a secret dimension, a different existence, a new meaning?
My current work consists of a series of abstract paintings that express my vision of the “blurry” zone that separates the two realities – the Known and the Unknown. I play with lines and expressive strokes of vibrant colors which overlap and merge into each other until they create the impression of such a zone. In this sense, the “in-betweenness,” transition, and multi-dimensionality are the key concepts of my work." - Sandra Vucicevic
I’m interested in an alternative relationship to difference. My work plays with what happens when we invite opposites to the party and join wholeheartedly in the conversations that result - Jim Watt
I’m interested in an alternative relationship to difference. My work plays with what happens when we invite opposites to the party and join wholeheartedly in the conversations that result - Jim Watt