Jun 30, 2009

Kass Copeland






Kass Copeland's work at first blush may remind one of the seminal artworks of Joseph Cornell; assemblages in a box format with a keen sense of intimacy and nostalgia built into their varied old-time photographs and engravings, subtly moving parts, and motifs of birds and night skies. But Kass Copeland's works are not mere imitations, but are aspects of a richly created world-view that in some ways is more accessible and more nuanced than Joseph Cornell's.

Many motifs run through her work, mournful black and white or subtly tinted daguerreotypes, antique parts from an earlier industrial age, finely crafted wooden boxes and chests with doors that open and hinges that swing, birds and feathers and insects, hands and rings, tattered text and exposed watch parts, and eyes - eyes that look back at the viewer with a vulnerable expressiveness that lies at the core of Copeland's work.

While Cornell's assemblages were often so specific to be coolly abstract in their meanings, Copeland never fails to create an emotional resonance with her viewer. Longing, loneliness, joy, sorrow, nostalgia, melancholy, wistfulness, hopefulness all find their voice in her astounding body of work. Kass Copeland's color palette tends toward a restrained range of earth tones, subtle tints, gold and silver, dark rich reds and ambers, and beautiful woods. But her emotional palette is complex and complete, drawing the viewer immediately into her cleverly devised constructions, then lingering far more in one's memory, like a wistful old song that keeps playing in your head, long after one has heard it.






Image titles, from top, all works by Kass Copeland;
The Bird Watcher, 2008,
The Peace Machine, 2008,
Leon's Gold, 2008,
Inter-Dimensional Peepholes, 2009

Find Kass Copeland's gallery on line at:
http://kasscopeland.wix.com/kasscopeland

Jun 10, 2009

3-D 12 Artists Exhibit at South Haven Center for the Arts




NOW Sculpture Exhibit: June 19 - July 26

"While exhibiting at various venues, the Chicago-based 3-D 12 artists have identified their commonly held environmental interests and concerns. Their personal perceptions on the issue cover as broad a range as their materials of choice. Decomposed lost and found objects, recycled plastic and metal, salvaged scrap wood, earth and water are some materials which are effectively reconfigured to translate their ideas into physical forms. The sculptural works take on subjective and collective meaning to contribute to a genuine meta-landscape."

The 3-D 12 artists are: Shelley Gilchrist, Peter Gray, Alan Emerson Hicks, Ruyell Ho, Beth Kamhi, Jim MacRoberts, Bill Moll, Mimi Peterson, Robert Putnam, Eric H. Steele, and Michelle Stone.

Photos:
top: new work by Alan Emerson Hicks, plastic, 2009
bottom: new work by Beth Khami, ceramic, metal, 2009

NOW Sculpture, featuring 3-D 12
June 19 - July 26
South Haven Center for the Arts
600 Phoenix St, South Haven, MI 49090
(269)637-1041

NOW Sculpture @ South Haven Arts

South Haven Center for the Arts
http://SouthHavenArts.org/

Alan Emerson Hicks
http://Crazy8Art.com/

Beth Khami
http://bethkamhi.com/

JASON MESSINGER MERCHANDISE