| PRESS
RELEASE
March
14 - April 7, 2002
ANNA
SOCHA VANMATRE
"NO"
Opening
Reception: Thursday, March 14, 2002, 6-8 PM
Anna
Socha VanMatre's paintings have been screaming
to the viewer her shock and fear and sometimes
hope since 1978. The realization that her post-September
11 works represent an extension of this cry
for sanity, only makes their emotional statement
more penetrating. Ms.VanMatre is a Polish born
artist who constructs graphite paintings on
monumental three-dimensional surfaces. Her works
have been presented on many exhibitions in five
countries and have been described by critics
as “symphonies of blackness, gray and
light” and a significant step in “liberating”
the drawing idiom.
At an exhibition at the Jerusalem Center for
the Arts, her installation was praised as much
more than a series of static drawings, but instead
“a thing of theatrical character, an interaction
between the stage and the audience.” Many
of her paintings (some as large as 20 feet in
height) utilize the potential of paper to be
rolled, unrolled, torn, folded, and cut —
not confining the paper to a life sentence behind
glass. Titles such as HABITAT, LIMITS, NO, HOPE,
METAMORPHOSES, and BEYOND THE EARTH CURTAINS
reflect the artist's focus on the relationship
between humanity and our environment. It is
a world with myriad shades of black and gray,
brightened by shafts of white light and a surprising
use of color, which illuminates the power of
runaway technology, the power of uncontrollable
nature, the power of unfathomable inhumanity,
yet also the power of beauty. The series “NO”,
the title subject of her first New York show,
has been one of the longest running series by
Ms. VanMatre. Beginning in 1982, she stunned
the public with themes of nuclear proliferation
in graphite on 10 foot three-dimensional paper.
Through the late 80's and early 90's, industrial
pollution and dangerous technology were the
focus. The horror of Chernobyl was the subject
of “NO” in a group of 1993-96 gray
and black works on torn and cut paper. In 1997,
the series entered a new phase with the addition
of color, suggesting fire, and serving in retrospect
as an ominous prediction of the most recent
graphite paintings. The 2001-02 version of the
series says “NO” to terror and intolerance
through a group of smaller three-dimensional
vertical diptychs framed and covered by glass.
“NO” will run through
April 7, 2002. An opening reception in the artist's
presence will be held on Thursday, March 14,
2002 from 6 to 8 PM. Featured at the opening
will be saxophonist and composer Rick VanMatre,
performing music written in conjunction with
the artist's work. Gallery@49 is located at
322 West 49th Street (between 8th and 9th Ave.)
Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 12
- 6 pm. and by appointment. For further information
and visual material please contact Monica Andreea
Rotaru at 212.767.0855, or e-mail info@gallery49.com.
 |
click
icon to download a pdf copy of the press
release |
<<< back
| bio
|
