Art Gallery opens art show Contemporary Genre
Toni Baca
Section: No Limits
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With its opening reception held last Thursday, Nov. 13, the gallery features the contemporary artwork of mixed media artists Cheryl Coon and Jeff Warmouth, and film-maker and photographer Kyra Garrigue.
Contemporary Genre refers to the historic genre art form that depicts elements of everyday life presented in contemporary, less traditional media. The featured artists take scenarios out of daily context and focus on elements that may otherwise go unnoticed, from the overlooked actions of climbing a staircase, to consumerism today.
Coon, an artist with an MFA Awarded with Distinction from the San Francisco Art Institute, utilizes domestic and recognizable materials, such as mop pieces, in her instillation art, or waxed coffee filters to represent the passing of time.
A strong emphasis on visual and auditory aspects of daily activity are incorporated in Garrigue's work. She has completed a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, and is presently working toward an MFA in electronic arts. Her work in video focuses on things less noticed, such as extinguishing a cigarette or flushing a toilet.
"I am interested in how the abundance of noise that we encounter every day has reduced our ability to listen to our atmosphere. By bringing these 'everyday' objects back into the gallery, I am pointing out the obvious; we stopped noticing the sounds around us and listen to how beautiful they are," Garrigue responded to the events' curator, art history instructor Jennifer Barrows. "I am bringing awareness of noise pollution, but also, how as adults we become desensitized to what may seem 'precious' to children.
Warmouth combines humor with consumerism art in his "self-parodying, self-cannibalistic self-portrait." The artist, from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who holds an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University, displays realistic-looking canned goods with the Jeffu brand.
One can find such human emotions as Crushed Heart, Thousand-Year Ego, and Cold Blood among the art products on display. His work seems to boldly point out that "You are what you eat." While intentionally putting a piece of himself in each can, Warmouth claims that, essentially, in his supermarket, "I am what you eat."
"Something small and common, out of context, can seem monumental. Everything is relative; things that seem insignificant can have a profound influence on later events," Coon says of her focus on daily life.
The artwork of the three artists will be on display through Dec. 18. Admission is free and open to the public. Those who attend can observe the events that so often go unnoticed in daily life and even purchase work from the artists. More information and gallery talks can be arranged by calling (209) 954-5507.
Gallery hours are:
Tuesday 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday 11:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Friday 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.