Fri 9/27 @ 6pm
By Josh Usmani
Downtown’s Proximity Gallery is at it again. Just a week after the opening of their first collaborative exhibition of their own work – Gross Adaptations at BUCKBUCK – Proximity owners Alex and Beth Kelly present their latest exhibition, Float.
Float features the work of local abstract artists Mark Keffer and Dragana Crnjak. Their work complements each other’s perfectly. Both artists’ use of layers creates the illusion of infinite depth within their flat canvases. Their dynamic compositions draw viewers in and reward them with details that create character in the ambiguous atmospheres.
Both artists combine organic atmospheres with hard-lined, flat-color geometry. These contrasts in compositions seem to be trying to balance two polarized worlds – big and small, science and spirituality, nature and society.
Keffer has had a busy year. He was instrumental in organizing a group exhibition in England, co-curated that same show at Arts Collinwood, exhibited in New York and won “Best of Show” at this year’s May Show at Lakeland. He’s already booked his next solo show at 1Point618 in early 2014. He received his BFA from Kent State and his MFA from Ohio State.
Keffer offers insight into the meaning of the show’s title:
“Much of my imagery seems unanchored and ‘floating in space,’ which for me has metaphoric weight. So much of what happens in one’s (my) brain is also unanchored, even indefinable. Consciousness, to me, is not one uniform thing. It is comprised of many aspects and shades of gray. I’m interested in that territory that exists on the fringe of consciousness. It seems difficult or impossible to define the line between the conscious and the subconscious. And what is the line between ‘thought’ and ‘feeling’? They come together in elusive ways.
“This applies to memory as well. It’s so common to recount an occurrence with someone and realize how different their version of it is. Their experience of it was different, so their memory will be too. But what is the core of truth regarding what happened? There can be certain tangible facts, but in terms an overall, finite experience of a situation, there is no core of truth. This applies to perception in general. In a sense, truth itself ‘floats’ and we never have complete access to it. Reality is a dream.”
Dragana Crnjak – a native of Bosnia – is currently an Assistant Professor of Painting & Drawing and the Gallery Coordinator of the Bliss Gallery at Youngstown State. She received her BFA from the University of Akron and her MFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. She is a two-time winner of the Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council (2008, 2011).
Crnjak explains her work:
“I am drawn intuitively to the ideas of the uplifting but still fragile energy of a new beginning, a sense of levitation, the transitional moments of becoming and vanishing. My exploration is based on the basic visual elements such as shape, color, edge and line.
“History and geology are important as both a source and metaphor in my work and suggest the process by which I layer visual information of different, often contradictory natures in order to imply thinking processes. Resembling both monumental and microscopic visions of growing and developmental processes, the suggested structures often struggle with their own stability.”
The duo’s work creates a harmonious and balanced exhibition. While each artist has established their ability to command a solo exhibition, the complementary nature of their work creates an exhibition even greater than the sum of its parts.
[Pictured: Rift by Dragana Crnjak & Untitled by Mark Keffer]
The exhibition and opening reception on Fri 9/27 @ 6pm are FREE and open to the public. Additional Hours: Saturdays & Sundays Noon-4pm or by appointment.
Josh Usmani is a 27 year old local artist, curator and writer. Since 2008, his work has been featured in over 50 local and regional exhibitions.