FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EXHIBITION: JAN WURM AND RAFAL KARCZ|FIGURES
HOUSE GALLERY
110 West Broadway
basement of the Peery Hotel
Salt Lake City UT 84101
Dates:
April 2 - April 30, 2010
Reception: Saturday, April 10: 5 pm - 9pm
HOUSE GALLERY, formerly The Livingroom, presents its inaugural show
entitled "Figures" by the American artist Jan Wurm and
Polish artist Rafal Karcz which examines two contrasting techniques
involving neo-expressionist figuration in a sociological and emotional
context. This two-person exhibition is a groundbreaking show of both
new paintings and works on paper from both artists which takes a fresh
and engaging look at the human body or bodies within relationships,
whether it be between person and environment or between persons.
Despite the seemingly traditional use of mixed media techniques or oil
paints, both Wurm and Karcz fearlessly explore the way individuals are
placed within their milieu without sacrificing their own sensibilities
and craftsmanship of how they depict humanity.
In Wurm's latest series of paintings and works on
paper, the artist uses both bright and muted colors and classical
compositions to take a strong look at couples, mother and child, or
groups of people in undisclosed situations happening at various places
such as gambling casinos, bars, or beaches. With a sharp eye, Wurm
goes beyond mere photojournalism by capturing a tense moment that may
reflect joy, sadness, depression, etc. within her slice-of-life
portraits. Like a short story, each work expresses a dramatic gravity
that is trapped within loosely flowing lines and melting splotches of
colors that suggests the dynamic nature of our own personal
relationships in different context ranging from love within a couple
to the Renaissance motif of mother and child. However, the pieces
often contain the weight of existentialism that tempers a particular
bleakness with a hint of hidden adventure about life. Often one can
see her characters refusing to look at each other and speaking to each
other without really engaging on an emotional level. Viewers can see
all types of people within the canvases or paper ranging from the
elderly to youthful beauties to children within the typology of
humanity that manifests Wurm's Austrian heritage. This cross-section
of her humanity mostly in a California society merges the tenor of
August Sander's scientific photographs of Weimar Republican society
and Albert Camus' terse short stories that harbors psychological
tenseness in modern society.
Even though Karcz also addresses the theme of the individual and
society, his themes and techniques differ from that of Wurm's. The
compositions within his mixed media watercolors reflect a dynamic
engagement amongst individuals in all types of situations ranging from
nightclubs to art galleries to concerts. The artist captures the
zeitgeist of our times using these off-the-cuff snapshots that
reflects the collective energies of persons who gather together for a
common cause whether it be to engage with artwork in a formal setting
or watch a rock star icon go crazy or throwing rocks at the
authorities during political demonstrations. Karcz's sharp eye for
blending blurred details to reflect the anonymous identity of the
participants (not to be confused with Gerhard Richter's blurring
technique to reflect the ambiguity of historical interpretation) with
exacting delineation of environmental landmarks particularly the
architecture of streets and buildings. Each particular story within
his freeze frame "shots" hides the individual emotion and situation
for the story of the streets and the people, especially within
post-Communist Poland. Also there are sociological overtones to each
series especially with his studies of jazz musicians such as the
1960's drummer Max Roach, anarchists, or Middle Eastern immigrants
living in Europe. Karcz dissects the subcultures of humanity by his
art elevating the remarkable tales of the oppressed or marginalized
into the forefront of his seemingly naturalistic and photojournalist
approach to depicting how relationships are forged through social
movements as part of the larger fabric of history.
Jan Wurm graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and
received a Master's degree from the Royal College of Art in London.
Wurm's work has been exhibited in many galleries, including the Los
Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, the Mandeville Art Gallery of the
University of California, San Diego, the Newport Harbor Art Museum Art
Rental Gallery, and Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco. She has
taught for the University of California Extension and the Art Studio
of the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC).
Wurm divides her time between Berkeley, California, and Los Angeles
and is represented by House Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rafal Karcz was born in 1969 in Krakow, Poland. He graduated from Art
History Department of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the
Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. His works have been exhibited at
various venues including Galeria Promocyjna, Iao PROJECTS, The
Livingroom, Galeria BB, Beyond the Border International Contemporary
Art Fair, Galerie Born/Busse, Galerie Works, and Galeria Rafała
Korzeniowskiego. He works as a painter and photographer who
experiments with mixed media watercolors and belongs to the Polish and
American Societies of Pastelists.
HOUSE GALLERY is a contemporary art gallery devoted to conceptual
projects founded in March 2010.
The space, which represents artists such as Vincent Como, Tanja Kunz,
Emilie Duval, Walpa D'Mark, and Jon Coffelt, is located in downtown
Salt Lake City at 110 West Broadway in the basement of the Peery
Hotel.
The hours are Friday, 3pm - 8 pm; Saturday, 11 am - 5 pm; and by
appointment. For more information about the space or exhibitions, call
(801) 910-1736 or email: dunker@comcast.net.
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