Friday, June 6, 2008
Annual Exhibition of Student Work
Monday, April 28, 2008
Fond Illusion
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Chalk, Clay and Stone
The sculptor Gary Haven Smith’s work certainly evokes the most thought. His circular granite pieces look and mean something, though to each viewer the meaning is very different. The works can be seen as both fragile and as strong. Their neutral coloring gives great mystery to their purpose. Among the students, the most common response was the idea that the sculptures are intended to represent bones, and indeed their earthy tones and flaky texture seem very similar to that of bones one would find in the woods. This idea of bones creates metaphors of natural death, while their circular shape relates to the circle of life. Whatever these works represent to viewers, they evoke both thought and emotion. The artist’s ability to evoke such thought and emotion makes his pieces both remarkable and fascinating.
Julia Macdonald, '08
Sunday, January 13, 2008
positive declarations --- Drawings by Michael G. Bauer
When I first looked at Bauer’s drawings, I saw many different shapes. Those different shapes, which seem to be tangled into each other and joined to a center, are unfamiliar to any forms I’ve seen before. They contrast with what those shapes try to express: Love, for example. Bauer uses words that are familiar to everyone: Love, high or even free. Somehow, everyone knows what the words mean, but actually, what is love? Or Freedom? In some way, they are hard to understand or to reach. Also, his words don’t express anything material; we cannot touch, nor see Love or Freedom. They are only personal feelings that everyone can or cannot “feel” inside them. Bauer’s knotted shapes disable the viewer from recognizing something that he has already seen. Everything seems unreachable: the word itself and the shapes, because they twist with each other and form spirals. They look like something from another dimension.
The shapes of Bauer’s drawings reflect an ending and a beginning. In fact, he uses spirals, which are made with a simple word that he writes a thousand times: Love. But why those he write them so many times? Perhaps because they have already and will always exist millions of times, without knowing why or how they came into being. Those lines of text create spiraling abstract shapes that look like explosions or something that might come from outer space. Maybe Bauer feels that those feelings are ephemeral, like life.
Bauer plays with words and meanings. He tries to understand what they truly express and how they can actually be expressed. If my interpretation is right, I think Bauer’s work is thoughtful and provocative. He shows his modesty, saying that some things in life, which everyone is seeking-- are perhaps unreachable.
-Sean Johnson, '08
"My first thought about [Bauer’s] work was that it was very creepy to repeat the same words over and over. I looked at the work more and then realized that the words seemed to fit with the intricate designs that they made up. There was one painting that just said “love” hundreds upon thousands of times. When I looked at this closer and thought about it more, to me, it seemed like the emotion of someone developing an obsession, or falling in love. [When I considered them again in this context], they all seemed to make sense even though they were kind of weird."
-E.P. 2011
On January 4th, Kimball Union Academy hosted positive declarations, an exhibition of artworks by Michael G. Bauer. Bauer’s artworks are compositions of a series of beautiful patterns. The patterns are made of many small words that contain big meanings.
Bauer’s drawings have characteristics that invite the viewer into the world of meditation. The patterns that Bauer uses for his drawings are mostly several compositions of circles and spirals, which focus the audiences’ eyes to the center. This drawing effect moves the audiences’ level of concentration to the stage of deep thinking.
Moreover, Bauer embeds texts in the patterns as a guideline for the travel. He uses positive words such as “Love”, “I Love You” and “Free”. Those tiny words create the pattern like bricks that pave the way to connect the mind of the audience with the drawings, and they help people follow their trip into the deeper mind.
Michael Bauer’s artworks lead us to visit our deepest mind to discover love and the spirit of freedom inside. Take a deep breath and see his drawing again: you will see the spirit of Love or Freedom inside the picture, but also from inside your heart.
-Bon Joon Koo, '09
I am totally in love with Michael Bauer’s art in the gallery this month. I have to go into that room every time I see it unlocked with the lights on. Everything I draw is abstract but I don’t have anywhere near the amount of patience it would take to do what he does.
It’s really interesting to see the picture from further away and have it make you feel a certain emotion, then go closer and read the words that make it up and see how they relate to the emotion. And if they don’t relate, it’s interesting to see how the drawing would relate to a different emotion. For example, the lovelovelove one that’s on the wall closest to the door uses very little color and the color it does use is soft and mild. The only thing that sticks out are the swirls and circles that overlap around the edges. Love is like a lot of circles that cross each other and veer away from each other. But the words all join together in the middle. All the love in the drawing is drawn into the center of the paper showing that no matter how many twists and turns and circles you must go in, love always finds it’s way home.
Michael Bauer’s work is so incredible to look at, it feels like you’re falling into all the time he spent on it and you can’t even believe the effort he must have put into all his masterpieces. Even the smaller ones must have taken months. It’s all just incredible.
-Emily Zea, '10
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Landscape and Figure --- Recent Paintings by Brian Chu
(see links to their work at right)
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Entropic Skies --- Woodcuts & Etchings by Aaron Drew
Friday, September 21, 2007
Clock in Shadow --- Woodcarvings & Drawings by Mark Golamco
"In my life, I have been all across the world viewing different artwork. I have seen many contrasting artists, styles, techniques, and media. After viewing the work most recently placed in Kimball Union Academy's Taylor Art Gallery, I have been able to be further educated in the various ways to express oneself. Clock in Shadow is an interesting and inspiring contemporary art exhibit. I thought that the way the exhibit was laid out enabled viewers to fully appreciate the artwork. At the opening, my eye became attracted to the far left wall because of its striking quilt. On this side, the artwork was significantly different than on the front wall and right side. I was fascinated by the way artist Mark Golamco used wood not just to create sculptures and architecture, but to both paint on and carve from. I was additionally impressed by the many talents portrayed by the artist. Between the quilt, the portraits, and the large landscapes and scenes carved into layers of industrial plywood, I liked viewing the different styles and methods. Although I appreciated every piece of art, my favorite was the drawing called Witness. To me, this work showed great movement and intense emotions."
-Sarah Cutts, class of 2008.
"On Friday night, September 7, 2007, Kimball Union Academy held its first Taylor Art Gallery Opening of the year, in Flickinger Arts Center. A wide variety of students poured into the gallery to see the works of Mark Golamco, a rising artist. An assortment of his finest pieces hung on the wall. The art ranged from plywood portraits carved with plunge-routers, to detailed graphite drawings on paper, to oil-pastel and watercolor patterned designs.
The plywood portraits caught my eye the second I walked into the gallery. The plunge-router allowed Golamco to change the depth of the wood drastically. I was impressed with how detailed each piece of plywood was. Some of the portraits contained small amounts of watercolor, giving them that "extra touch". The variation in depth makes his work very unique. It truly was like nothing I had ever seen before.
My favorite piece in the gallery was the graphite pencil drawing of the woman with the coral brain. [ Those Who Did Not Know to Ask ]. At first glance, it looks like a normal portrait of a woman wearing a french hat, but the hair was actually seaweed, and the hat was made of brain coral. The attention to detail was remarkable. Golamco said "I used powdered graphite to shade in the areas, and then a graphite pencil for detail." I also love to work with graphite and charcoal, so this information was helpful and interesting.
The biggest work of art in the gallery was an oil-pastel and watercolor [drawing] of a star, made up of small diamond shapes. Golamco added an opaque glaze over the star to give it a light, subtle look. He used his fingers to smear and push the color surrounding the star, giving it an earthy and natural appearance. I really enjoyed hearing how this creation was made because it used so many different materials... All together, I enjoyed this gallery opening, and talking to Golamco about how he created each piece. I thought all his work was original and creative."
-Emily Bulkeley, Class of 2009
"As an overall collection, Mark Golamco's work did not really interest me. However, there were certain elements of his style that I liked. It is very interesting how he uses plywood to create a low-relief piece of artwork. The way he changes depth by carving out the subject gives his work an abstract element, but at the same time, draws attention to certain details, such as a person's hair or facial expression.
What I found surprising was the collection of rubbings. It took me several minutes before I even realized they were from [some of] the same wood works on the wall. The rubbings bring out details you do not normally see when looking at the wood. Because of this, your thoughts on the subject of the piece may change.
I found the rubbing Witness to be very interesting. Golamco combined the rubbing of one of the heads of a person with a rubbing of a candle. The final image looks like the candle is burning and dripping wax down the sides of the person's face. Though we know it is actually the hair of the person, it has a new meaning.
Even though I found several things interesting, Golamco's work comes off to me as a little bit morbid. I just didn't get a happy feeling when looking at the works."
-Marra Landino, Class of 2008.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Fall Preview: Clock in Shadow
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-Sung Min Ma, Class of 2008
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Saturday, July 21, 2007
Description
Description
Taylor Gallery is a bright and versatile space within the Flickinger Arts Center, just off Gallery Street. The gallery serves as a forum for exhibitions by guest artists from outside the school community, with the goal of providing students with convenient access to professional artwork. All exhibitions are open to the public, and entry is free.
Exhibitions
Every few weeks during the academic year, the gallery hosts an evening art opening, providing a festive occasion to showcase the work of a visiting artist. Exhibitions cover a wide variety of media-- from drawing, painting, printmaking and collage, to video, animation, and photography, to installation, sculpture, glass, and ceramics. Artists may be relatively local or come from far away, and some are occasionally alumni or faculty.
It is common for openings to be scheduled to coincide with student performances in the theater—please check the arts calendar if you are interested in seeing additional arts events while you are on campus.
Student Involvement
Students enrolled in AP Studio Art and Advanced Studio Art are encouraged to attend openings and write reviews of artwork featured in exhibitions. Visiting artists are invited to tour the studios and participate in student critiques and discussions. On special occasions, guest artists give presentations and hold individual meetings or workshops with students.
Each May, to coincide with graduation, the gallery showcases the artwork of graduating seniors. At this time, students work together with instructors to curate and install a group exhibition, which often expands beyond the gallery space to include installations on Gallery Street.
Call for Proposals: 2008-09 Academic Year
Artists interested in exhibiting at Taylor Gallery may send samples of their work to Alexandra Mathis at amathis@kua.org or at PO Box 188, Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH 03770.
Selection is made according to the needs of the program, with a goal of building a series that balances a wide variety of work.
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