The (un) Known
It may be possible for an exhibition to present female artists exclusively, and not be qualified by feministic ideals. In Convergence; the scarcely perceptible veil , nine women artists discharge their femininity in gender specific imagery such as tea sets, flowers, fruit, hummingbirds, and self portraits. However, it is the absence of feministic intent in the conceptual process which liberates the artwork from the ‘ism'.
Convergence is neither about rebellion, nor domestication, nor any inferred surrender to the female stereotype. Instead it showcases both emerging and established women artists who have created representational and symbolic artwork of subjects they enjoy. Feministic qualities may manifest themselves in their work, but they arise unintentionally, almost as an afterthought.
Refreshingly, the unavoidable presence of feminine connotation envelops the gallery space, transforming it into a place of solicitude and longing, for comfort and the motherly, for the familiar. The artists are true contemporaries in their honest approach to their art, presenting their inner cores as women. They do not shy away from revealing that which is vulnerable, fragile and beautiful to them, both as artists and as individuals.
Once inside the gallery, the downtown traffic dissolves behind the walls. The presence of the beautifully crafted fireplace, intertwined with the wooden window frames, creates a feeling of domesticity. The space invites the viewer to slow down from their daily events, and embark upon a reflective experience where they can uncover the familiar. The paintings occupy the homey interior comfortably, as if they have been part of the gallery since its inception. The interior becomes the ideal setting for art to offer joy and desire, and to allow for recollection and validation.
Recognizable images of objects and situations unfold before the viewer like glimpses of fleeting memories. The paintings, like hanging relics, summon the viewer to step inside the gallery, and enter into the fragmented familiarity of human emotion and daily action. Emma Hesse's painting of an acorn squash split in half, underlines the meaning of the exhibition, capturing the elusive nature of memory, a situation common to all the artists in the show. Each painting introduces a new possibility which relates to a life lived both as an artist, and a woman. Similarly, as the squash reveals its contents, each work unveils the inner emotions of the artist. Common situations are transformed into peculiar states, where the grotesque becomes the beautiful, when it is juxtaposed with imagery of what ordinarily is perceived as unthreatening.
Convergence echoes the still life, portrait and landscape traditions, but at the same time departs from them. Rules are abandoned as the artists interpret the academics of art in their own way. The undisturbed objects and serene figures gracefully occupy their environments, yet at the same time provoke a feeling of uneasiness as their bodies communicate a state of flux. The figures, instead of posing in a predetermined state, appear to be captured by the artist at a defining emotional moment. The objects and the environment they occupy are presented in an imperfect state of existence, enabling the viewers to identify with the emotion expressed, and almost effortlessly have it become part of them.
The paintings in Convergence are envoys of the roles women play in their daily lives as mothers, providers, and lovers. They suggest defeat, loss, and longing, but also happiness, success, and triumph. And it is these common threads which allow each artist to explore basic and complex emotions individually, but also causes their shared experiences to converge.
Ola Wlusek