Louisa Gould Gallery opens Summer Splash
By Brooks Robards
June 13, 2012
Summer Splash –– Colors & Textures brings together seven artists
from a variety of different media at Louisa Gould Gallery in Vineyard
Haven. The show goes up Wednesday, June 13, with a reception scheduled
for Saturday, June 16, from 5 to 7 pm.
Included are mixed media collages by Carol Gove, ceramics by Suzanne
Hill, paintings by Ethel Grodsky, mixed media pieces by Rachel Paxton,
collages by Genevieve Jacobs, and paintings by Margo Ouellette.
Paintings by the late Vaclav Vytlacil, the prominent abstract artist who
mentored Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombley, among others, will also
be on display. Mr. Vytlacil lived on the Vineyard and incorporated
marine themes like gulls, fish and boats, into his later work.
"It's not landscapes and lighthouses," says Ms. Gould. "It's a really
fresh, contemporary show." What unites these disparate artists is the
way they explore color, patterns, and the surface characteristics of
their particular medium.
Ms. Grodsky and Ms. Gove are new to the gallery. A New Hampshire
resident, Ms. Gove belongs to the DeCordova Museum Corporate Art
program. Her powerful abstract works on wood combine geometric blocks of
color with paint drips, broad brush strokes, attached paper, and
snatches of other flat substances. The combinations achieve unusual
depth and complexity. Her paper collages offer a mélange of bright
colors and shapes.
Ms. Grodsky, a 92-year-old Floridian, paints a mix of abstract and
figurative works. "Repose" combines the two, placing a figure that
could be reclining or seated, depending on how the painting is hung, in
an abstract background of multiple greens. The figure itself moves
toward abstraction through the artist's application of color to create
shadow and dimension. "Asteroid" moves entirely into abstraction with a
many-hued arrangement of muted blues, greens, and purples accented by
bright yellow splashes and red-box silhouettes.
The Vineyard-inspired works on paper by Mr. Vytlacil combine a
playful use of color with shape-defining black lines. Some, like "Three
Fish," seem almost Cubist-influenced in composition. A series of seagull
paper works practically vibrate from the artist's forceful, masculine
sketches depicting the birds' movements and interactions.
Mr. Vytlacil painted at a studio near Squibnocket Pond in Chilmark
for many summers. Last winter, Ms. Gould visited the late artist's
studio with artist Melissa Breese, who had been hired to sell the work
left in his house and studio. They found the Vytlacil works in the
upcoming show in a folder behind a bookcase in the studio.
As a ceramicist, Ms. Hill favors a simplicity of form, letting the
surface effects of saggar firing come to the fore. A saggar is a ceramic
container used to protect pottery in the kiln during firing. By
surrounding a pot, a saggar may concentrate the effect of salts, copper
wire, seaweed and other materials placed in it around the surface of the
object to be fired.
The results of saggar firing give Ms. Hill's white ceramic bowls and
vases a range of blue, earthy brown and deep orange patinas in unusual
abstract and organic patterns created through this challenging process.
Those with lids may have pieces of driftwood or stones attached as
handles for opening.
Of Native American extraction, Margo Ouellette paints in brilliant
acrylic colors on wood and canvas. The Boston-based Island summer
resident creates circular works in a palette primarily of blues and
greens. Her compositions, including her spin art, have a strong design
element, relying on curves, circles, grids and whorls, often with an
unusual, almost architectural element in the center.
Rachel Paxton joins graphic components with snatches of writing, and
in the case of "Dog and Bone," a spotted canine imagining his favorite
treat. In another work, "I Love Our World," two goldfish in a bowl
exemplify the artist's ground of red hearts and typographically
whimsical use of the operative word. Other Paxton imaginings use maps,
music, or historical motifs.
Genevieve Jacobs collects eggs, nests, rocks, skulls and other
objects for her collages. In some cases, the artist paints cigar boxes
and fills them with tiny shells and other found objects. She also
creates bird portraits in acrylic.
Long Point 5 will perform at the opening reception. This Island
quintet includes Julie Schilling on clarinet, Vineyard Haven Fire Chief
John Schilling on trumpet, Morning Glory Farm's Jim Athearn on trombone,
Bud Larson on flute, and Jeri Larson on keyboard. They'll play a
variety of music, ranging from jazz to classics and pop tunes.
Summer Splash –– Colors & Textures, Louisa Gould Gallery,
Vineyard Haven, June 13-26. Opening reception Saturday, June 16, 5-7 pm
with music by Long Point 5. 508-693-7373 or lg@louisagould.com.