The post-holiday slump can be hard, dull, and grey. Fortunately, the Dallas Design District?s Holly Johnson Gallery, Cris Worley Fine Art, Laura Rathe Fine Art, and Craighead Green bring color to the winter doldrums with their first exhibitions of 2019 opening this weekend on Saturday, January 5.??
Holly Johnson: Moonlight on the River
Moonlight on the River will be Stuart Arends? first exhibition with Holly Johnson. The title of the exhibition and the body of work comes from the German improvisational acid rock band, ?Electric Moon,? and Dekooning?s 1960 painting, Door to the River.
The thesis regarding this body of work expands on the Abstract Expressionist?s idea of accessing the flow, or ?river? of creativity through the ?door? of improvisation, spontaneity, and the unconscious. Moonlight on the River is an ongoing series that the artist began in 2016. They are each watercolor, ink, and pencil on tracing paper measuring 14 X 17 inches. The tracing paper allows the watercolor to sit on the surface. The paper is stretched first, then re-moistened and worked ?wet on wet?. When dry it remains wrinkled and slightly distressed, which is an important element in the work. In Holly Johnson?s viewing room there will be a small selection of work from throughout Arends career. hollyjohnsongallery.com
Cris Worley: Timothy Harding: New_drawings_1-21c
Timothy Harding: New_drawings_1-21c features new works in acrylic on canvas and a site-specific installation in wood. The exhibition will be on view through February 9, 2019. Timothy Harding?s art explores the relationship between two-dimensional pictorial space and three-dimensional physical reality, which manifests in compositions that transform the traditional four-edged frame. Harding plays with the flexible qualities of paper and fabric canvas by layering multiple finishes of paint in gridded patterns to create depth-defying optical illusions. In his installations and singular objects, Harding fuses drawing, sculpture, and painting, to design artworks that appear as twisted digital screens into alternate spaces.
In this exhibition, Harding expands his previous focus on rectilinear angles to include curved lines, resembling those found on a globe, or from tracked waves of atomic particles. Recent work by Harding continues his engagement with the formal language of minimalism and pop art through his use of saturated bright colors, finished with machine-like precision, in glistening plastic surfaces. Harding?s work will be on view through March 17. crisworley.com/timothy-harding-new_drawings_1-21c/
Laura Rathe: Changing Tides
People tend to believe that an artist has full control over the creation of their art, artists Christy Lee Rogers and Dylan Gebbia Richards let natural phenomena have the last say. Rogers? photographs are inspired by masterpieces from the Baroque era, but rather than relying on a steady hand and control of a brush, she builds these scenes through the unexpected movements of submerged models, vintage drapery, and the refraction of light through water ? as if they themselves are ?painting? the scene. Her eye then catches these celestial moments of beauty and vulnerability through the lens.
Gebbia-Richards? topographic paintings are a symphony of rich tones and densely layered texture. Through an intricate process of dripping wax, pigment, and resin, he allows chance and gravity to define the direction of his work. By doing this, Gebbia-Richards seemingly charts undiscovered terrain that is reminiscent of mountainous ranges or vibrant coral reefs. The undulating forms, prismatic pigments and glimmering light used in Rogers? and Gebbia-Richards? work captivate the senses and remind the viewer how the forces of nature shape our world. Changing Tides is on view through February 9. laurarathe.com
Craighead Green
Sewn Landscapes depicts rural locations near Dallas. A native Texan, Rebecca Shewmaker is inspired by the environment of her home state. She is fascinated by the countless changes that take place season to season, day to day, and even hour by hour. When visiting these locales, a sense of peace, rest, and renewal encompasses Shewmaker?s mind. Her process begins with dyeing cotton fabric for sky and land, followed by many hours of sewing straight and zigzag stitches using a sewing machine. Threads are changed frequently to add color and tone to the image. To contrast the threadwork, loose wool, dyed ribbons, or tulle are incorporated. French knots and straight stitches are hand-embroidered to add more detail.
Todd Carpenter will show an exhibition of paintings titled, Light of a Parallel Plane, depicting city and landscapes. The paintings reflect, as Carpenter describes, ?Not representations of particular places or of the individual elements that comprise them, but rather attempts to capture what it might be like to experience those places.? The black and white paintings emphases the portrayal of depth and invoke a sense of being ?in? the scenes depicted.
Pearl Dick will exhibit a collection of figurative glass sculptures titled, Stronger Together, that reference and examine relationships. These relationships are sometimes explicit in terms of the emotion conveyed by the intimacy of the connection, or hidden, in terms of the process that is essential but not obvious in the creation of the work. The importance of the group, the family, the community, is the driving factor in the creation of this latest body of work. Pearl is an artist who creates as a means for expressing her passions, as a way to understand and interpret the interactions she experiences, and as a hope for people to appreciate our human connection.
Additionally, Persistent Blues, will show the work of Carolyn Zacharias McAdams. McAdams describes her work as the ?Deepest indigo and rich prussian blue create the atmosphere of my paintings and speak also to my personal moods, often melancholy and longing for days past.? She continues, ?Often the works are anxiety driven and hours are spent creating the tales which come to me in a ?stream of consciousness?, with no plans for the final outcome. The pieces build on one another as I go through my process, moving between the pieces, like reading multiple books concurrently, laying one down and trying to adjust to the next one I pick up.?
All four exhibitions will continue through February 8. craigheadgreen.com