BAM Boys

Last Friday evening was the opening art reception at Enso art space for the exhibition entitled, Five Corners.  I think it should have been called, The BAM Boys, because all five artists are either currently working or have worked at the Boise Art Museum at some time.

I work with Todd Newman, the preparator for the museum, and his work was the first you see upon entering the space.  All the pieces on exhibit are from his series called Sanctuary. 

Todd has developed a very unique technique for this series.  Layers and layers of different colored acrylic paint are applied to a board.  Then he starts to sand/grind away the surface to excavate the colors underneath.  Because the process is imprecise, he doesn't know what the results will be.  The process creates visual depth in certain areas while other areas remain almost flat.

In this series, otherworldly landscapes appear.  In all my years of looking at art, I haven't seen anything quite like Todd's process.

(photos posted with permission of artist)

 Leaking Planet #1 by Todd Newman

 Untitled by Todd Newman

 Untitled by Todd Newman

Although the above piece is untitled, Todd confessed to me that he thought he should name it The Dino-Chicken Nebula.

Another of the artists with whom I work with and know well is Dave Darraugh.  While Todd's artworks contain a multitude of color, Dave's work is quite the opposite with a total lack of color. Dave's pieces make use of found materials in neutral colors, such as a piece of notebook paper. Minimal marks are made with black and/or other neutral colors.  

Below is the largest piece in this exhibit.  

Floating Chair by Dave Darraugh

In this piece, the almost calligraphic black lines create the simple form of a chair.  But the floating nature and background texture call for further contemplation.  I think having a simple black chair sitting in front of the piece, as part of the piece, would be an interesting dynamic.

The other three artists worked as guards at the museum and I did not know them but by sight. Marcus Pierce had what seemed like one large piece in the exhibit, but was really a series of pieces entitled, the Moiré Series.

When I first approached this work from the side, the first thing that came to mind was a holographic card where you see one image, but when you turn the card at a different angle, you see another image.

Pierce used oil paint on clear acrylic panels that were then layered with a black background.  Not only do these layers create physical depth but emotional depth as well.  By creating different angles of the faces on different layers, we get a better portrait of the person rendered.

 Moiré Series by Marcus Pierce.

Cody Rutty's pieces were paintings that have the feel of drawings.  Complex lines and patterns create an intricacy and shallow depth in the work.

Catch by Cody Rutty

I thought I had taken a picture of each of the artists' work.  Apparently, I did not get any of Ben Browne's work.  Here is a link.  He had several small works with a relief-like texture to them that then had simple stripes of colors painted on top.  This made for an interesting juxtaposition.

Although there are five very different styles of artwork in the Five Corners exhibition, it still seemed cohesive.  The show runs until Aug. 31.  Go to the website to find out when the space is open.  They have limited hours.