Ivana Quezada & Madaline Gardner

EXHIBITION STATEMENT

W orks in The Degradation of an Unstable Dispersion share an immense scale which challenges the viewer’s sense of perception. The extreme horizontal and vertical orientation prompts the viewer to step back in order to view the entire image. It quickly becomes apparent that the work confronts the observer, as it supersedes them in size. This effect speaks to the natural forces present in nature, as humans are mesmerized by the phenomenons of natural disasters, vast landscapes, and the depths of the unknown. Abstraction allows the viewer to interpret the subject freely, and develop personal ideas and conceptual notions. Movement and energy captured in the drawings have been interpreted various ways, many of which comment on the meditative effect born from the intuitive process of creation.Works in The Degradation of an Unstable Dispersion share an immense scale which challenges the viewer’s sense of perception. The extreme horizontal and vertical orientation prompts the viewer to step back in order to view the entire image. It quickly becomes apparent that the work confronts the observer, as it supersedes them in size. This effect speaks to the natural forces present in nature, as humans are mesmerized by the phenomenons of natural disasters, vast landscapes, and the depths of the unknown. Abstraction allows the viewer to interpret the subject freely, and develop personal ideas and conceptual notions. Movement and energy captured in the drawings have been interpreted various ways, many of which comment on the meditative effect born from the intuitive process of creation.

Dark and illusory, the intricate drawings of Ivana Quezada and Madaline Gardner share elements of the sublime. As poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, ‘For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror which we are barely able to endure, and it amazes us so, because it serenely disdains to destroy us.’ Although neither of the artists draw directly from a subject, both study images of natural occurrences to spark compositions. The subject matter of the works are inspired by various natural forces, among them celestial, aqueous, and nebulous forms. Devoid of color, and thus relying on a monochromatic palette to translate imagery, the drawings give little inclination as to where they exist in space, may it be on a microscopic or macrocosmic level. Formations such as explosions, smoke, and waves are frequently referenced in the labor intensive work.

Quezada uses charcoal on paper to create her drawings, relying on velvety gradations and skewed perspective to give the works a dimensional quality. While the drawings are enrobed in darkness, they each emit a quality of subdued light, as if being emitted through a haze. The works begin by Quezada manipulating the surface of the paper using a leather cloth dusted with charcoal. These unique imprints are often accentuated by her erasure or further application of material to the paper. Repetition of these forms flow together into a complete composition and are characterized by Quezada as non-objective realism—or the sense of a transient image which allows for vague conception by the viewer. “I am primarily influenced by the idea that through ordinary shapes, colors, and lines one can establish a sense of transcendence, that is clear of any objective subjects.”

Gardner’s work is dominated by the echoing of linear elements. Her drawings are created by varying the distance between precisely drawn marks. The result is an image which resembles a path or imprint of an organic surface. Her use of metallic ink allows for light to react on areas of the surface that are concentrated with pigment. Overlapping this mark making technique on the substrate gives the sense of combined atmospheres and tremendous depth. Ebb and flow is central to the creation of her work as concentrated areas of lines, tense and tedious, give way to restful void, as in the passage of time. The amorphous imagery present in Gardner’s work is inspired by the void, or space just out of reach of comprehension. “I travel through my imagination until I reach nothingness, past the farthest my mind’s eye could see if I look beyond the stars, past the space deepest into the dirt of the earth that I could feel, until I reach the outermost corners of my mind—these are the inspirations for my creation of images that reflect wonderment contrasting with darkness.”Dark and illusory, the intricate drawings of Ivana Quezada and Madaline Gardner share elements of the sublime. As poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, ‘For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror which we are barely able to endure, and it amazes us so, because it serenely disdains to destroy us.’ Although neither of the artists draw directly from a subject, both study images of natural occurrences to spark compositions. The subject matter of the works are inspired by various natural forces, among them celestial, aqueous, and nebulous forms. Devoid of color, and thus relying on a monochromatic palette to translate imagery, the drawings give little inclination as to where they exist in space, may it be on a microscopic or macrocosmic level. Formations such as explosions, smoke, and waves are frequently referenced in the labor intensive work. Quezada uses charcoal on paper to create her drawings, relying on velvety gradations and skewed perspective to give the works a dimensional quality. While the drawings are enrobed in darkness, they each emit a quality of subdued light, as if being emitted through a haze. The works begin by Quezada manipulating the surface of the paper using a leather cloth dusted with charcoal. These unique imprints are often accentuated by her erasure or further application of material to the paper. Repetition of these forms flow together into a complete composition and are characterized by Quezada as non-objective realism—or the sense of a transient image which allows for vague conception by the viewer. “I am primarily influenced by the idea that through ordinary shapes, colors, and lines one can establish a sense of transcendence, that is clear of any objective subjects.”

Gardner’s work is dominated by the echoing of linear elements. Her drawings are created by varying the distance between precisely drawn marks. The result is an image which resembles a path or imprint of an organic surface. Her use of metallic ink allows for light to react on areas of the surface that are concentrated with pigment. Overlapping this mark making technique on the substrate gives the sense of combined atmospheres and tremendous depth. Ebb and flow is central to the creation of her work as concentrated areas of lines, tense and tedious, give way to restful void, as in the passage of time. The amorphous imagery present in Gardner’s work is inspired by the void, or space just out of reach of comprehension. “I travel through my imagination until I reach nothingness, past the farthest my mind’s eye could see if I look beyond the stars, past the space deepest into the dirt of the earth that I could feel, until I reach the outermost corners of my mind—these are the inspirations for my creation of images that reflect wonderment contrasting with darkness.”