Ron Mills Pinyas
"As Susan Sontag asserts in the Aesthetics of Silence, “every era has to reinvent the project of spirituality for itself.” The challenge I enjoin in this body of work is a response to advances in scientific understanding and new visual proof of the astonishing and incomprehensible universe(s) around us. To do so I find identity as a painter in the notion of the “slipping glimpser” of painter Willem De Kooning1, and I connect that unwieldy posture with the vastness and unimaginably profound realities we are discovering from deep space probes, molecular science and quantum physics, not to mention everyday observation of the wonders surrounding us. Orders of dimension, and our ability to count it, to position ourselves as humans relative to it, are indeed humbling—yet wonder persists, and through it I seek to “glimpse” what has been called “the cloud of unknowing”."
Ron Mills Pinyas
Bryn Williams
"It’s my goal as a painter and mixed media artist to explore new ways of viewing self. I start a new work to map my disowned and forgotten aspects and to remind myself of the possibility of being more. With my art, I seek to convey that I am (we are) simultaneously, both the person that we see in the mirror and source energy interconnected with nature and all that is. I believe that the concept of abstraction allows me to traverse this vast space between my known and unknown selves.
For my practice, I utilize fragments from past artwork (past selves) and recombine them with found and repurposed plastic forms (with the acknowledgment that plastic is a globally problematic material) to create a work that, for me, embodies an enhanced, more complete identity that wondrously holds and heals the dual concepts of self/not self and maligned past/bright future and fuses these opposing ideas into a brand new way of being."
Bryn Williams
Lorraine Glessner
"I utilize hiking/walking as an art practice. My work is rooted in landscape, so inserting my body and experiencing the landscape with it is imperative. The work in this show comes from a series started on my first DIY Residency in Northern Florida-my studios were the woods during the day and the kitchen table of my Airbnb at night. I literally walked 5-7 miles a day, always in a different place with various terrain. Beach, forest, swamp, stormy, sunny, hot, cool, hills, flat. Navigating weather, wild animals and sometimes rough terrain, helped me to become more connected to the place, my thoughts and myself. The following quote by Anne West describes this connection well….
Where the feet walk centers poetry. This is another way of saying that by placing the mind and body in movement it is possible to approach the heart of things from another direction. Walking helps to ignite the senses and to open self to external stimuli. To walk is to cultivate a wandering intelligence where we are placed in fresh relationship with the world and happenstance. When walking, thoughts are allowed to be free. We entrust ourselves to chance. Anywhere, anytime the unpredictable may appear. All we need to do is stay open to it."
Lorraine Glessner
Chad Erpelding
"I'm interested in being a witness to our current time and I believe we are in the era of corporations. There is a wonderful quote from Joseph Campbell that I think of often: "You can tell what's informed the society by the size of ... the tallest building in the place. When you approach a medieval town, the cathedral's the tallest thing in the place. When you approach a 17th century city, it's the political palace that's the tallest thing in the place. And when you approach a modern city, it's office buildings and dwellings that are the tallest things in the place.
My piece in Abstract Catalyst #9 is based on data from the Nikkei Volatility Index, a stock market index from Japan that measures the volatility of the market as experienced through the lens of corporations. Looking specifically at data from 2020 - the height of the pandemic - I want my painting to create a space between visual pleasure and the underlying effects of a globally difficult moment. Each stripe is based on the data from one day, with the values of the colors based on the change in value of the index. For instance, the darker the blue, the greater the gain in value of the index. With volatility indices, a gain means that the market is becoming less stable.
In order to get precise color relationships, I use syringes to mix the paints based on a mathematical formula developed for each painting. My hope is that my work balances data visualization with the history of abstract painting, where I replace the formal and idealistic space of Modernism with our new idol - the market."
Chad Erpelding
Robin Kerr
"I love this gallery and the work this curator does. Somehow, despite selecting a group of apparently disparate pieces, the work as a whole always shows as though in an obvious arrangement. So, I always want to be part of that magic. Also, the Abstract Catalyst theme seemed a personal call. I am a clinical biochemist by training. A biochemical pathway was never properly memorized without the correct catalyst. For some reason, I always liked the catalysts. I imagined them as these little something-or-others who supported and nudged the reaction along, quietly, without notoriety, yet with absolute understanding that without them, things would not go as they should. When my art is doing what it should, there is that something-or-other present, gently nudging the piece from separate components to something new and different."
Robin Kerr
Janet McIntyre
Why I Paint
I used to paint in my basement. I’d lose track of time, especially if I was in the zone, and before too long I’d hear a bark alert and my dog Brando would appear at the top of the stairs. “Put down your brush and let’s go for a walk, dammit!”
Last winter, after 15 adventurous years together, Brando crossed to the other side. And I stopped painting. The only time I could even bare to go down to the basement was to do my laundry. Triggers were everywhere and so were my tears.
Many months of near paralysis followed. But at the gentle prodding of a concerned friend, I signed up for an artist retreat at “Essence of Mulranny.” Located at the western edge of Ireland, Mulranny is a small seaside village in sheep country where the rhythm of life is dominated by the tides. The sheep have learned to stand patiently waiting for the water to recede so they can again graze on their marshy patch of sweet, salty grass. Walking through fields of heather, gazing up at the brilliance of the stars at night, a cloud lifted. I painted twelve pieces in four days.
When we are broken open, we exist in a raw place beyond words. Art can be a light in the darkness. I no longer paint in my basement. I’ve repurposed my garage so I paint above ground now and can look out to the hummingbirds who flit and hover near my window. I’ve learned to embrace my grief as it’s given way to a new vulnerability in my work and shaped a new self.
Imshruth (Counter Tide) is Irish for an eddy or a current that turns back on itself. My hairy dog is there chasing waves along the rocky shore, his tail twirling in the ocean’s spray, joyful, joyful as only dogs know how to be."
Janet McIntyre
—-With thanks to Pablo Neruda
Tony Furtado
"My process started with pressing clay into the giant mold I use, removing it, cutting into strips, reattaching...then I split it into manageable sections to fit in my kiln, fired the sections. Then I glued (with PC-7 Epoxy) the sections back together, primed the whole thing with gesso, coating it with the metal coating, let it cure. Then I worked the surface with patina solutions to get it good and rusty, coated with sculpture wax and voila!"
Tony Furtado
More process pics from other Tony Furtado Sculptures and the piece that is currently on view at Verum Ultimum:
Janet Antepara
"Big Pink refers to the U.S. Bancorp Tower in Portland, Oregon. The nickname comes from the way the building reflects a pink hue when sunlight strikes its surface. In this piece, I convey my impression of Big Pink as you traverse the city, keeping your focus on the building. As you move, the surrounding elements and sharp edges blur into the background, while a cascade of pink hues and sparkles envelops your view."
Janet Antepara
Justin Shaw
"Abstract Catalyst struck me as the perfect opportunity to share my work. I am an artist who takes great joy in the traditions of craft. I am also an individual whose career is a result of my life's absorption of teachings and experiences. So here we are...
Abstraction- the intentional alteration of a thing originally derived from reality
Catalyst- an initiator of change.
My piece hammer blends my loves. Wood carving and mechanical cleverness, blended with themes and visuals inspired by 1950's ready-mades, hotrod and tattoo culture, and the grungy aesthetic of a good flea market find. My work often expresses a narrative, if not a specific one, then the appearance of one. It is my hope that my work sparks a story in its viewers and its oddness is the catalyst for something unique or interesting."
Justin Shaw
John Diephouse
"I think my response to the Abstract Catalyst theme at Verum Ultimum reflects the range of subjects to which I am attracted, as well as the variety of experiences we all encounter. We respond to a wide range of inputs, some of which are soothing, some jarring, some pleasantly stimulating, and some unsettling or thought provoking. Each provokes a different response and may generate a different mood or reaction at a different time. I am equally drawn to the grace and simplicity of a spring blossom, the grit and decay of an abandoned rusty car or industrial site, and the abstract blend of color and form that many abstracts provide. So, in many ways the images I produce reflect my experience as much as an intent to explore or encourage a specific response."
John Diephouse
Mickey Ronningen
"Verum Ultimum’s theme, Abstract Catalyst 9 prompted me to respond with a favorite composition—An Inane Beehive of Organized Chaos. The phrase itself comes from a fiction book by a favorite author who has the talent to express complex moments, actions, and feelings. The phrase demanded expression in visual terms.
My intention in doing abstract art is to offer expansion and healing. Translating experience, feelings and/or ideas to visual art terms does that for me. The goal is to expand engaged viewers’ ability to engage in nonverbal, safe, physical heart-feeling; moving to a verbal connection when comfortable, ultimately to recognize one’s true soul, one’s beautiful being, with clarity and comprehension. Perhaps many artists’ intention is to change one's world, make it bigger, individual by individual. I believe it all starts with the impetus to create, share art, and engagement."
Mickey Ronningen
Deanne McBrien-Lee
"I was drawn to Abstract Catalyst 9 because of the broadness of the theme allows the artist lots of room for interpretation. My work begins simply with color and shape and evolves via pure improvisation. As I move through the piece, I may be attracted to a more literal interpretation of what I am seeing or keep it as a pure form of expression without intent. I love the quote by Helen Frankenthaler, "I don't start with a color order but find the color as I go. I'd rather risk an ugly surprise than rely on things I know I can do"."
Deanne McBrien-Lee
Steve Mauldin
"I was drawn to the theme “Abstract Catalyst” since my current work is entirely abstract while it is also a catalyst for suggesting meaning. When I began my current series, of which “IMP22” is a part, my intention was simply to explore the optical mixing of color. My idea was to overlap the super-fine skins of paint produced by my current method of mark making in such a way as to make the colors mix in the eye and brain. The random decision to put four colors to a side as I worked my way towards the center of the canvas produced, (totally unexpectedly), a sort of circular 3-D “pressure wave” that suggested an energetic explosion/implosion of color and energy which creates this wave. This, in turn, suggested energy imploding or condensing into matter, or conversely, matter exploding into pure energy. In some fundamental way it suggested to me the very essence of our reality. I know that everyone won’t respond as I have, but I hope the image does provoke meaningful thought."
Steve Mauldin
More Details about Stev's innovative process below:
"Since I’ve always been one to play around and experiment with paint to see what
it can and cannot do, one day in about 2005 I taped a super-fine straight pin to
the end of a palette knife, dipped it in paint, cocked it back, and slung the paint onto a piece of paper. I was stunned by the result. The resulting mark, to me, was the living embodiment of pure energy (examples below).
As one who has a layman’s interest in physics, the first thing that then came to mind was String Theory which proposes that all matter is ultimately composed of tiny knots of energy that are the building blocks of sub-atomic particles, which in
turn are the building blocks of protons, electrons, etc. It occurred to me that this mark that I had just made was the perfect visual signifier for said knots of energy.
I began using these marks in some of my paintings at that time but soon learned that palette knives break from metal fatigue when flexed that often. Consequently, I had to devise a new, more durable tool to work with. At the time I had a bunch of “Color Shapers”, rubber, brush-like tools that I had bought but didn’t like or use that had been lying around the studio for years. I stuck a pin in
one of those and have been using tools like it ever since. One such tool is
pictured below.
These tools wear out, as well, but they last much longer than the palette knives
did by orders of magnitude. I soon began making paintings composed entirely of these marks, addressing issues I had dealt with for years, all the while thinking about how one could use these marks to mix color optically. The “IMP” series addresses that very issue.
My idea was to overlap the super-fine skeins of paint produced by this method of
mark making in such a way as to make the colors mix in the eye and brain. The
random decision to put four colors to a side as I worked my way towards the
center of the canvas produced, (totally unexpectedly), a sort of circular 3-D “shock wave” that suggested an energetic explosion/implosion of color and energy which creates this wave. This, in turn, suggested energy imploding or condensing into matter, or conversely, matter exploding into pure energy. In some fundamental way it suggested to me the very essence of our reality, much as the mark alone had. The pictures below will illustrate how the pieces develop from an initial layout to a finished piece."
Steve Mauldin
K.L. Wollons
"I keep the subjects of my work intentionally vague. While I may have an
idea that seeds the design, I almost never reveal this. It’s far more
interesting to me to know what YOU see (and feel). At a recent show, a
mother and son were looking at one of my more abstract pieces. She
asked her young boy what he saw and, without hesitation, he told her the
name of an animal as if it was obvious. As soon as the boy said it, I
saw it for the first time. This is the power and magic that art
inspires!
I’ve always been attracted to metal for its permanence. Through
exposure, the patina and streaks of rust over time just add to its
story. I’m also drawn to structures with a level of complexity
sufficient that they look to be intentionally created, especially if
their purpose is a mystery. This is really the way I think of my
pieces as artifacts created to communicate something that the viewer is
left to decipher.
My work is the product of many distinct stages, each requiring a
complete shift in mindset. From the free form expression of pencil on a
pad, to the engineering of layers, to the physical assembly of the final
structure, moving between these processes keeps me engaged with a piece over many months of production.
This way of working sometimes requires “seeing” the end processes early in the design. It’s only through having made many costly mistakes that I have started to become proficient at this. For example, when I’m sketching long, thin points in a design (I tend to like these), I’m aware that if I design rivets too close to the pointed end it will tend
to crimp and bend the point upward when assembling. It seems like a
small detail, but once this little bend occurs, it’s very difficult and
time-consuming to fix (and it looks terrible)."
K.L. Wollons
Julia Purinton
"After spending years painting landscapes in a variety of traditional styles, I visited an amazing retrospective of the work of Joan Mitchell, and felt as though a door had been opened to an entirely different world.
I felt a call to re-imagine nature as an expression of its light & energy, and began to explore a less restrictive and prosaic vernacular of layered brushwork and vibrant color in its depiction."
Julia Purinton
Gregory Kessler
“A deep or considered thought about something...
This work is a metaphor for the impermanence of our environment. The contours of the ice are transitioning into a floor of water, which acts as a mirror reflecting the ice and surrounding context. The warmth of the sky will complete its role in transforming the water into vapor eventually returning the vapor to ice. Samadhi: "the term 'samādhi' derives from the roots 'sam-ā-dhā." This is generally translated as 'to collect' or come together. It is also seen as "concentration." In this work, the vibrant colors, swirling clouds, water and lotus blossoms create an alliance that seeks to generate a pensive condition. Liminal: “occupying a position at, or on both sides of a boundary or threshold.” This work is an interpretation of the blossom from a desert Torch Cactus, Trichocereus grandiflorus. This plant blooms for several days in late March or April and explodes in vibrant color announcing the enthusiasm of the new season."
Gregory Kessler
Cathy Valentine
"I initially was attracted to the Abstract Catalyst at Verum Ultimum because I liked the idea of an abstract show at a gallery that I have been interested in for some time. My work usually is created in encaustic, a medium I have been exploring for at least 15 years. My work is non-representational. For the piece I submitted to the Abstract show I worked on mylar, and incorporated drawing with ink which is something I love to do. I was interested in exploring this material for its transparency, which is something I attempt to achieve in my work in encaustic. The results were different in mylar, I did not achieve the depth I achieve in wax, but I loved the results. I definitely want to continue exploring mylar and pushing it much further."
Cathy Valentine
Reade Weber
"Through yoga and connection to nature, I find quiet, and my abstract artistic ideas form, like a picture in my mind. Intuition guides me in the moments of making, and the work takes shape. The process is not like a mirror, more like sparkling morning light, change inherent."
Reade Weber
Shannon Guzzo
"My beadwork typically is color color color, sometimes so much color in too many shades, that I have to reduce the number because the distinction among the shades is too minimal for most people to see. Seed beads can fool you; depending on the degree of translucence and the various finishes on the glass, a bead can look entirely different once it is woven to other beads. But in the case of "Newspaper", I used opaque beads deliberately to get the full effect of the 3 colors. I like to issue myself design and production challenges, so the switch from colorFULL to the stark purity of black and white and an occasional red was a fun challenge that I'd thought of for several years. The design rules that I set for myself were equally simple: each Hypar (warped square) has black and white rows in a wide variety of dimensions, and at least one red bead. I honestly did not expect to use as much red as I did; it just invited itself into the individual squares and I was powerless to control it. Except that I did follow my design direction once: one square does have only 1 red bead in it. Out of the over 1200 beads in one square, just one red bead. I love explaining that to guests and challenging them to find that one red bead. In my earlier Hypar Blankets, I used to design a couple of squares to work together as one unit. That is a tricky thing to do, to be sure that the sides are going to line up correctly so that a shape extends accurately across more than one square. For "Newspaper" I did not design any squares to work with each other; I suspected that it was going to be interesting to see how squares would have fun with each other once I started laying them out for assembly. I just let myself have fun with my colored pencils (only 3 for a change!) and ruler and charts.
I laid them out so that there was balance among the features of the designs: not a lot of white-centric or black-centric all together, for example. And not a lot of repetition of shapes or of dimensions of rows. Each square was designed to stand alone. The FUN of seeing the squares not only play together nicely in their glassy sandbox, but actually create their own cross-square designs!!! Not once did I position squares next to each other to create a new design; I continued to follow my rule of balance among the black, the white, and the red, and the general dimensions of the rows.S eed bead weaving with the cylinder shaped beads works best with shapes that are in 45 or 90 or multiples of these degrees. I am inspired by shapes in nature that can be illustrated with these angles. "Newspaper" was a natural result of thinking up images with straight sides. Some of my projects should be so easy!"
Shannon Guzzo
