Ann Craven at Maccarone
May 27th, 2010
Artist: Ann Craven
Venue: Maccarone, New York
Exhibition Title: Flowers
Date: May 1 – June 26, 2010
Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.
Images:
Images courtesy of Maccarone, New York
Press Release:
When we see Craven’s paintings…we are picturing the repetition of language, vision and painting. As a form reoccurs, it becomes more and more like a word — more like a symbol and a signal. *
In ?previous? work, ?Craven? has ?explored ?symbolic? images ?such ?as ?birds, ?deer, ?and? the? moon, ?pulled? from thousands? of? her ?collected ?print? outs,? images ?she? scanned ?and ?printed ?from ?nature ?books ?and ?magazines or? gathered? from ?the ?internet.?? In? her? first? solo? exhibition ?at? Maccarone? Gallery, ?the ?artist? undertakes ?a? new?subject, ?still?life? arrangements? of ?white? roses, ?painted? from ?life. ?Painting ?with ?bravura? improvisational?intensity, ?and ?using? primarily? a ?palette? of? black ?and ?white,? Craven ?reanimates ?the? anachronistic? genre ?of? still?life? flower?painting.
Craven ?began? painting? flowers ?from? observation? several? years ?ago ?when, ?following? the ?death ?of? a? loved? one, ?she? made? paintings ?of? the? roses ?taken? home ?from ?the ?funeral ?as ?gifts ?for ?her ?family.?? From ?the ?start,? she? approached ?the? subject? with? a? deep ?intuitive? connection? to ?both ?the? historical ?and ?popular? symbolism? of ?the? rose.? The? paintings ?in ?this ?exhibition ?build ?on ?this ?symbolism, ?immersing ?us ?in ?a ?dramatic ?black?and?white? world ?of fluid? scale,? where? rose? petals? become ?spiraling,? almost? galactic? form,? slashes ?of ?black? paint,? depicting? rose? leaves, ?become ?swift?moving ?vectors,? and? dashes ?of? white,? used ?to ?represent? baby’s? breath,? suggest? clusters? of ?stars.
The ?exhibition? is? organized ?around? three ?groups ?of? paintings, ?each ?installed ?in ?a ?separate? part? of? the? gallery.? The? first ?room ?contains? a ?series ?of? nine ?paintings ?of? bouquets ?of? white? roses ?in ?glass ?or ?crystal? vases ?situated ?on? a ?simple ?studio? stool, ?all ?painted? from ?observation.? For? the? backgrounds,? Craven ?uses? flower? motifs ?redeployed? from ?her? previous ?paintings,? making ?these? new? paintings, ?in? effect, ?flowers? on? flowers.
In ?the? second ?room? are ?“copies” ?of? the ?paintings ?in ?the ?first? room. ?The? copies ?are? mirror? images ?of ?the? “original” ?paintings,? flipped ?left? to? right? along ?their ?vertical ?axes.? The ?copies ?are ?installed ?in? clockwise? rotation, ?also ?mirroring ?the? counter?clockwise ?rotation? of ?the ?paintings ?in ?the ?first ?room.
Around? the? street?facing ?perimeter? wall? of ?the ?gallery,? Craven? has ?installed? her? “stripe ?paintings” ?– ?that? she? makes ?using? the ?paint? left? over? on ?her ?palette ?after? completing ?each ?painting.? Craven? considers ?these? stripe? paintings? to ?be ?“born”? from ?the ?flower? paintings ?and? refers ?to ?them ?as ?a ?third? set ?of ?flowers.
Craven’s? paintings? ??? the ?originals,? mirrored? copies,? and ?stripes ??? ?raise? complex? questions.? What ?exactly? occurs? when? Craven ?makes? a? mirrored? copy,? stroke ?for ?stroke, ?of ?an? original, ?painted ?alla ?prima ?from? a? three?dimensional ?motif?? The ?spontaneous, ?focused? gesture ?is? repeated? and ?thus ?reified, ?an ?image ?of? an? object? becomes ?a? mirror? image ?of ?an ?image.?? The ?improvisational? brush stroke, ?usually? considered? a? recording ?of ?a ?unique? movement? of ?a ?body? in ?time,? is? re?performed,? becoming? choreographed.?? With? the? stripe ?paintings, ?representation ?and? execution? are ?still ?further ?reified.? Left?over? paint,? applied? in ?parallel? brush? strokes,? becomes? another? sign ?for? a ?bouquet? of ?flowers.
With? Craven’s ?acute ?departure ?from ?her? previous ?iconography, ?she ?takes ?on ?a ?new ?language? to? communicate? the? deep? psychological ?rigor ?it? takes ?to? re?paint? paintings,? brush ?stroke ?for? brush stroke,? color? by ?color,? line? by ?line. ?As? Craven? stated? in ?2006,?“?I? often ?take ?the? memory? of ?the ?last? painting ?and? bring ?it ?into ?the ?next ?painting.? The ?new ?painting? becomes? the? memory ?of ?the? moment ?just ?past.”
* Bianca ?Beck? and ?Josh ?Brand, ?On ?Ann ?Craven,? or? Painting ?Again:? Memory,? Mirror,? Moon,? March, ?2008.
Link: Ann Craven at Maccarone
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