CHROMA-chameleon
Rachel Fischer · Betsey Gravatt · Adam Palmer · Austin Sparks
Extended through June 2, 2018
Extended through June 2
|
Ro2 Art is thrilled to present CHROMA-chameleon, a wonderfully colorful group show by UNT alumni Rachel Fischer, Betsey Gravatt, Adam Palmer, and Austin Sparks. Known for their bold use of color, these four artists analyze and respond to the world around them in various ways, drawing inspiration from everyday objects, racing thoughts, and childhood memories.
The show has been extended through June 2, 2018. There will be an opening reception held Saturday, April 21, from 7-10PM at the Ro2 Art Downtown Pop-Up located at 1508 Commerce Street in Downtown Dallas. |
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
|
Rachel Fischer is a multimedia artist currently working in Denton, Texas. She earned her MFA at the University of North Texas, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the Dallas Museum of Art, Arche and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund and the Nasher Artist Microgrant for her part in the art organization Brick Haus Collective. Her work has been published in New American Paintings and has been exhibited throughout the state and nationally. She has been an artist in residence at the Penland School of Crafts and The Vermont Studio Center.
My work begins within the mundane artifacts of everyday life. Cast-offs, trash, found objects and sifted imagery reflect the world I wish to see and sometimes the one that I fear. In my work they are transformed into pseudo-spiritual icons, protective totems and apparitions. Imagined through the lens of my own anxieties and compulsions, even the most ubiquitous ephemera become a proxy for the human condition. Most recently I have been focusing on the idea of bad omens and good luck charms derived from a vocabulary of personal objects and imagined scenarios. I think of these images as “Monuments” that represent some greater truth. Floating through hazy colorfields, these objects waver between reality and another plane, channeling the absurd, fragile and transcendent minutia all around us. Other paintings record hazy auras that suggest impending deliverance or doom. These images are less about a visionary unseen world, and more about the world we have created, reflecting our wildest aspirations and the inevitable failures there in. Betsey Gravatt is an artist based in North Texas. She received her BFA in Studio Art, with a concentration in Drawing and Painting, from the University of North Texas. She is currently in her second year at Texas Woman’s University, undertaking an MFA in Painting, and a minor in Intermedia. Gravatt's work has received several awards, including the Annual Voertman's Award, The Cindi and Mike Holt Award, and the John Weinkein Distinction in the Visual Arts Award. Betsey currently teaches Basic Drawing at Texas Woman's University, and gives Professional Practices lectures at universities and high schools in the North Texas area. In recent years, she has been an artist in residence in New York, North Carolina, and California, and her upcoming projects include solo exhibitions in Denton and Fort Worth, Texas. My work is exploratory rather than didactic, and one of my goals is to create an alternate reality for myself and my viewers to navigate. To me this environment is inviting and friendly, and reminds me of the places I lived in or visited, as well as objects I enjoyed while growing up. I am inspired by children’s toys that were popular in the 90’s, such as Lisa Frank and Polly Pocket dolls, and by TV shows I watched as a young girl, and I use my process as an outlet for childhood wonder and creativity. From start to finish, I feel as though I am a child playing pretend. Adam Palmer was raised in Monahans Texas. He received his BFA in Printmaking from Angelo State University in 2004, and his MFA, also in Printmaking, from the University of North Texas in 2011. In addition to printmaking and screen printing, Palmer also explores other media such as drawing and sculpture. Palmer currently lives and teaches high school art in the Fort Worth area. In my latest drawings and prints, I try to convey all of my childhood influences in an abstract form. I grew up in a small and remote west Texas town. Nickelodeon, MTV and HBO provided an escape from my everyday life. The shapes and colors of Saturday Morning Cartoon were my first introductions to Color and Composition. The interesting fashion and music on MTV videos and HBO Movies provided a new perspective about other places and cultures. I try to capture the same fun and energy in my work that I felt as a child. Austin Sparks is a Texas based artist currently residing in Denton, where he attends the University of North Texas for Drawing and Painting. Austin's work has been included in several juried exhibitions around North Texas, including those at the Brickhaus Collective and 500X. He is the winner of the Jo Williams Best of Show Award for his acrylic painting 'Living Room,' as well as Voertmans Prize. Austin is also a member of the Visual Arts Society of Texas. My work is about thought process. Specifically, my work is about the dysfunctional organization of thought process. Any given day we go through thousands of thoughts ranging from the intellectual to the mundane. My paintings are about trying to grasp those thoughts in the form of an image. My body of work focuses on the dark comedy in the world, as well as my experiences as a chef and how the two relate to each other. |