“Process”

August 9-August 31 at Austin Art Space

Austin Art Space is pleased to welcome ten extraordinary guest artists to the gallery — each of whom explore the artistic process with innovative technique in their craft and deep perspective in their subject matter.

Jack White, an abstract expressionist and winner of the Austin Visual Arts 2012 President’s Award, has been widely recognized for his provocative and symbolic wooden panels from his African Totem series. Every part of White’s work is purposeful and methodically crafted — and laced with meaning.

Sam Coronado, founder of Coronado Studios and the Serie Project, is well respected for his contributions in serigraphy printmaking. Coronado received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 industry art awards at the AT&T Center in Austin. Since 1986, Coronado has taught art and lectured on Chicano art in numerous museums, art schools, and universities throughout the United States.

New AVAA Member William Cauthern is also an accomplished printmaker, sculptor and educator. His dynamic block prints, often Austin-based in theme, bring a dynamic and unique style to the exhibit. Cauthern was introduced to printmaking by Nigerian woodcutter, Dr. Christopher Adejumo, long-time AVAA Board Member and UT Professor.

Leslie Pierce once again pushes the boundaries of artistic process. In her encaustic works, she incorporates elements of “speed painting” and combines them with other contemporary painting techniques. Always one to embrace the unpredictable, she incorporates drips and “mistakes” into fields of visual rhythm. Pierce is not interested in painting an exact replica of something but instead infuses images with a life force that is difficult to define. She mimics, bends and transforms mistakes and uses improvisation to push past traditional methods to create work that is contemporary, arresting and unique.

Orion Knox is not only an explorer in his artistic process but also an explorer in real life. A well-known Texas caver, he was recognized for being the first human to view the incredible rock formations of Natural Bridge Caverns near New Braunfels TX in 1960. From his travels around the world, Knox works to create unity of the overall image in his photographs. Whether his subject matter is a plant, animal, person, structure or landscape, his keen eye and use of natural light immerses the viewer in the scene.

Painter Luis Abreux is a Cuban artist who offers one of the deepest perspectives to “process.” Abreux brings to the viewer “a mental universe not very well-known so far — it is the mental universe of his land, an island where painting is not a luxury but a thing that emerges from under the stones, among the trees and above the roofs of Havana.” Cuban painting is an outlook on life, perhaps a response to life. For Luis, painting is surviving — “as the demons are walking down the streets, riding on horseback and with a bottle of rum in hand.”

Painter and long-time AVAA Member Jan Middleton Roset is a visual adventurer when it comes to process. She is constantly exploring and experimenting in the realm of the abstract. As an intuitive painter she focuses on interpreting her inner and outer relationships to the world as she sees it. Her work revolves around interpreting the transient relationship of energy and freedom.

Cecilia Ling is an artist-photographer who grew up in China and continued her education in the U.S. Her photos are footprints of her travels. In her process, she attempts to go beyond the reality of the natural images, transforming photographic work into more impressionistic images of light and color. As an Asian-American artist, she endeavors to portray natural harmony and seek balance with Feng Shui approach. To enhance the mood of her photos, she often includes natural materials such as hand- or machine-made paper from Thailand, India, Nepal, Japan, China, France, Italy and Germany.

Fiber Artist April Sullivan is a long-time friend of AVAA and program coordinator for VSA Texas. She uses yarn to “paint” her canvases. Her contemporary fiber art is inspired by the traditional art of the Huichoi Indians.

Revi Meicler is a figurative artist who creates mixed-media collages through a process of construction and layering. She begins by creating a painting of a nude model and layering the figure with various materials including torn pages of fashion magazines and handmade paper. She allows ideas to surface during the process. “It is an organic process that evolves as I draw the model and later build on the work in my studio.”

We are pleased to welcome our guest artists and present this important exhibit “Process” at Austin Art Space, August 9-August 31. Gallery hours are 11-6 Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment. For more information, please email kelli@avaaonline.org. Austin Art Space is located at 7739 Northcross Dr., Austin, TX 78757.