Beauty is a browless face. It is the face of convergence, of enlightened conceptualization and pleasing aesthetics; the process behind the presentation; the idea behind the physicality; the motion of the idea as it is conceived, developed, and birthed. Beauty is nothing alone.

Beauty can be the face of the work from/of an artist, the artist the body that together creates a single aesthetic entity (Beauty with a capital B if you will); it can be the relationship between that body and that face and, also in this sense, the artist and the viewer because the two are joined together by the painting, a type of communion if you will. So, the relationship is based upon the communion of art. Art can be, but is not limited too, a personal view/feeling/belief externalized, exposed to the world, and then re-personalized by the viewer as they take the work into their own inner reality.

In that communion lies a response. Regardless of what that response may be, good/bad, pleasant/displeasing, it is the key of good art. Good art is something that cannot be pinned down and classified. It is not always what someone wants to see; yet, it is always beautiful. It exists without a definition because its very existence is the act of defining, creating, and existing. It is that it is. It is something someone will always come back to see, always remember.

Gallery Revisited is an intimate gallery bestowing exceptional art to an encompassing audience. Located at 3204 Sunset Boulevard in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles Gallery Revisited brings a warm originality to the art world in a town filled with so much commercial and corporate clutter one could become sick with despair in mere moments. A street front local provides an easy-to-spot location luring in both art aficionados and enthused art beginners, a pleasant aspiration of Leora Lutz’s, the owner/curator, reached.

Gallery Revisited, aims to nurture the next generation of art collectors by creating an environment that welcomes new and aspiring collectors and admirers, as well as seasoned and erudite collectors. Leora Lutz greets each guest with a congeniality that opens up into respect whether she discusses art, answers questions, or simply verifies the prices of the art with the clientele. A charming interaction that is sure to make even the most isolated and intimidated novices feel welcomed.

Conceptually driven, the aim of 2007’s shows is to differentiate the “painters” from the “painters” (in Ms. Lutz’s words). A concept that revamps and presents the age old question what is art? by exploring the different mediums, methodologies, and styles that exist in the multi-brows of art today. Presenting numerous diversions of current artistry not only allows the development of a new generation of collectors but promotes further exploration of our current understanding and acceptance of art, something everyone can benefit from. However, this is not to say that the shows are so concept heavy and intellectually savvy that they isolate the viewers from the paintings, especially those who, like mentioned earlier, are novices; but, rather are quite accessible and easily enjoyable to all with an open mind.

The beginning show of the season, the current show, presents two collections of abstract paintings. One collection entitled “Covering Up the Divide” is from Jessica Robbins; the other collection entitled “Dissolution”, from Elana Kundell.

Jessica Robbins’ paintings depict an elemental layering of mythic proportions. Smoothing out the eye-catching graphical structures of her thoughtfully chosen patterns with a repetitious working of popping paints and differing compositions the paintings expertly project a single emission. A unified feeling or emotion seeping from the precise juxtaposition of structure to void, bright to dark, process to spontaneity fusing, not only the individual elements in the painting, but the viewer to the painting. As the viewer’s emotion merges with the emotional output of the piece and the idea behind the painting, the idea of/from Ms. Robbins, new blood forms as the viewer becomes conscience of the convergence of art, inspiration, and process.

The collection works well as a whole as the individual pieces seem to bleed into each other through the shared use of similar patterns and designs. Colors of a related nature are also used throughout the paintings. This adds further validity to the theme of unification that circulates within the work. A collection that in more than one way is “Covering Up the Divide”.

The paintings illustrate a sense of courageousness from the artist as it is clearly obvious that she has held nothing back in this particular collection. Created from minimal, built up shapes tightness can be seen at the core of the paintings as the patterns are broken down to an essential degree. This is not to say that the pieces are dull and boring like a Republican at a tax convention but become bolder, or more comfortable as the pieces grow in motion and complexity by their use of the layering of shapes, colors, and patterns which create a unification of casual and conservative.

Working in enamels, acrylics, and oils chiefly on wood Ms. Robbins is able to break through retrospective stylistic trappings of the modern mindset and tap into an almost historic, or continuous, sense as the viewer are sucked into the pieces trying to trace the details back to a beginning which might or might not be there; a journey where the viewer will be constantly looking, constantly returning to, and never tiring of.

Elana Kundell utilizes a different approach in her collection “Dissolution”. Consisting of abstract atmospheres the paintings work with color and texture to create a mnemonic landscape. Imagination is broken down to the most basic level allowing memory to come into focus which brings new, emotional experiences to surface. This is done in part through the intuitive surfaces of the paintings as Ms. Kundell uses a variety of methods (knife, cloth, brush, finger) to create the surface texture and flow of the works. A primal urge to create and explore emotional space.

The spaces that are created in the works of Elana Kundell share another similar feature to Ms. Robbins’ work: the use of layers. While Ms. Robbins makes use of layers through motions of patterns Ms. Kundell uses motions of color and texture. The works almost seem to pulsate as so much energy is imbedded in the pieces through the play between color and form that the pieces seem to not only hold memories of their own design but be memories of their own design – a self-perpetuating motion of emotion.

The varieties of colors in the collection are not limited in any sense or fashion as exploration of every level is taken on; a brooding sense of red, a dystrophic yellow glowing from behind a sheared brown, a crag of concrete-gray jutting from a puddle of black and green. Images that are not to act as ink blots, to be interpreted differently by each individual, but images so precise in their fields of abstractness that particular emotions are inevitable and are remembered as a sense of wonder and beauty.

So, Gallery Revisited begins its new year with a strong, bold stride holding its beauty in its hands; creating a new brow for art; creating an intimate and appreciated communion with its guests. It is a combination of all these things; it is a beauty that is.

For more information regarding Gallery Revisited, please view their website www.galleryrevisited.com

Written by d/visible contributor Christopher Burkett

This entry was posted on Monday, February 26th, 2007 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Art & Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.