GROUP EXHIBITION

Entering the exhibition, Jean-Philippe Delhomme’s series of three paintings follow the pensive reading of a book by Henri Matisse. Each work is derived from keen observation over a one-time painting session, capturing the fleeting moment of a still life or temporary presence of his model. Nearby, the paintings of Xavier Veilhan reduce natural landscapes to their most essential vocabularies of shape and color. In their abstraction, the artist’s gradient landscapes illustrate endless interpretations of earth and space in hues of blue, grey, yellow, and pink. In another translation of landscape, Anna Plesset’s trompe l’oeil painting is part of a larger series of works that reframe the history of the Hudson River School to give value and visibility to the many women who were affiliated with this iconic 19th-century movement but who have been largely omitted from the canon. Plesset, who is known for work

that interrogates the processes that create historical narratives, creates a to-scale reproduction of an 1854 painting by the American landscapist Abigail Tyler Oakes. However, in Plesset’s hands, the “copy” is in-progress and being painted from what appears to be a printed screenshot of a Google search result for the original work. Rendered in a staggering trompe l’oeil technique, this “source material,” framed within the larger unfinished copy, makes visible the ongoing work of historical recovery.

In the main space of the exhibition, Jean-Marie Appriou’s sculpted figure is caught between human and animal bodies. The walking thunderbolt shaman pulls inspiration from a Faroe Island folktale which states that seals were former human beings who voluntarily sought death in the ocean, and, once per year are allowed to come on land. Appriou’s work often draws from mythology and science fiction to imagine worlds inhabited by human, animal and vegetal figures. In contrast to Appriou’s fantastical depiction, Izumi Kato’s sculpture, nearby, resembles ancient stone. Inhabiting a liminal space between physical and spiritual realms, Kato’s boldly colored embryonic figure possesses a unique strangeness that embodies a universal, primal form of humanity.

Light of Winter brings together international, established and emerging artists that shed light on societal constructs of self, offering new interpretations. Through exploration into our relationship with the natural world, cultural histories, and processes of introspection, the artworks on view invite us to contemplate our own place within an ever-changing ecosystem. Art can be seen as the conduit not only to reflect on our current times but to offer hope for the future.

Entering the exhibition, Jean-Philippe Delhomme’s series of three paintings follow the pensive reading of a book by Henri Matisse. Each work is derived from keen observation over a one-time painting session, capturing the fleeting moment of a still life or temporary presence of his model. Nearby, the paintings of Xavier Veilhan reduce natural landscapes to their most essential vocabularies of shape and color. In their abstraction, the artist’s gradient landscapes illustrate endless interpretations of earth and space in hues of blue, grey, yellow, and pink. In another translation of landscape, Anna Plesset’s trompe l’oeil painting is part of a larger series of works that reframe the history of the Hudson River School to give value and visibility to the many women who were affiliated with this iconic 19th-century movement but who have been largely omitted from the canon. Plesset, who is known for work

that interrogates the processes that create historical narratives, creates a to-scale reproduction of an 1854 painting by the American landscapist Abigail Tyler Oakes. However, in Plesset’s hands, the “copy” is in-progress and being painted from what appears to be a printed screenshot of a Google search result for the original work. Rendered in a staggering trompe l’oeil technique, this “source material,” framed within the larger unfinished copy, makes visible the ongoing work of historical recovery.

In the main space of the exhibition, Jean-Marie Appriou’s sculpted figure is caught between human and animal bodies. The walking thunderbolt shaman pulls inspiration from a Faroe Island folktale which states that seals were former human beings who voluntarily sought death in the ocean, and, once per year are allowed to come on land. Appriou’s work often draws from mythology and science fiction to imagine worlds inhabited by human, animal and vegetal figures. In contrast to Appriou’s fantastical depiction, Izumi Kato’s sculpture, nearby, resembles ancient stone. Inhabiting a liminal space between physical and spiritual realms, Kato’s boldly colored embryonic figure possesses a unique strangeness that embodies a universal, primal form of humanity.