Five artists–Eric Bohr, Eli Geiser, Kathleen King, Leah Markos, and Joan Weiss– delve into abstraction from various angles and to varying degrees. In both paintings and sculptures (with some hybrid pieces as well) analytical, lyrical, and expressive bents reside in form, color, mark, and material.
Oakland based multi-disciplinary artist Eric Bohr presents new mixed media paintings incorporating an interest in texture, line and process to deliver a dialogue of symbol and emotion. Working with paper, acrylic, and charcoal, he aims to invoke images beyond the canvas and suggests that what we see is only a part of the larger whole.
Eli Geiser shows work in tune with her attraction to the varying colors and symbolism of rust, seen not just in metals but in leaves, seed pods, fur,stone and earth. In some iterations, rust is vibrant with life but in others it may mark time and history. Often rust is the final stage of erosion, a temporal bridge to the ephemeral, with phases of aging and fragility along the way. Geiser strives to preserve a final phase or moment before it is done and gone.
East Bay artist Kathleen King’s latest work is constructed from materials found in urban streets, building sites, and dumpsters. These paintings and painted objects offer a blunt geometry that connects the subconscious with everyday experience and vernacular culture with the vocabulary of abstraction.
Sculptor Leah Markos shapes materials from the domestic realm such as wool, fabric and thread into dramatic minimalist forms that speak of her fascination with our processes of identity formation. What we take in whether by choice, force or osmosis fills and forms us, setting our shape and our direction. We are consumers and conduits in a complex world filled with suggestions, expectations, inspirations and indoctrinations.
In her new work Joan Weiss moves her focus to interiors. Her use of offbeat color, flattened space, and abstracted form gives her paintings a dreamlike resonance. Moving between recognizable objects and ambiguous terrain, a free-floating emotional ambiance engages with the pure properties of paint.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Artists’ Panel Discussion & Reception: Saturday, September 22, 4-6 pm with the panel discussion from 4-5 pm. MODERATOR: PETER SAMIS, ASSOCIATE CURATOR, INTERPRETIVE MEDIA, SFMOMA .
Oakland Art Murmur First Friday: October 5, 6-9pm