Soosen Dunholter and I will present a series of work that explores natural forms, geometric constructions and the patterns of shape and change titled Biology, Geometry, Morphology.
The exhibition, in the East Gallery of the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, 136 State Street, Portsmouth, NH, will open September 1 and continue through September 24, 2010. Biology, Geometry, Morphology will feature works in encaustic, oil, ink, and original prints, from six-inch square panels to a large six-panel work in oil and encaustic, measuring 48” by 96”.
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| "Sea and Sky", oil, encaustic, mixed media |
I've been working in my New Boston, NH studio since 1992. This new work, all from 2009 and 2010, in oils and encaustic, features botanical forms in motion, including still life artifacts with abstracted and overlapping plant leaf shapes and references to landscape. The exhibition will also include a series of black and white ink paintings on panels depicting close up botanical landscapes.
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| "No Middle Ground VII", ink on panel |
Soosen Dunholter of Peterborough, NH works with geometric forms and textures in her collagraphs, monoprints, and paintings. These mixed process “prints” are an evolution of constant investigation and experimentation in pushing the boundaries of printmaking and markmaking. Soosen’s minimalist work focuses on the interplay between form, color, and line upon subtle textures. Her engaging multi-layered surface treatment invites infinite exploration. Says Dunholter, “There were no pre-conceived ideas of what these prints were going to become; no diagram. I just allowed myself to have an immediate response to the wire and ink and a continuous reaction to the markings that were made one print at a time.”
We have come together to examine the theme of Biology, Geometry, Morphology. Each of these is a study, a pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Biology is the study of forms of life; geometry the study of shape; and morphology the study of changing forms. We discovered we shared these investigations into the basics—how to translate the perceptions of life and shape and changing form into visual expressions of our experience. We also share a love of printmaking processes and the varied applications available through the use of the ancient but newly revitalized medium of encaustic.
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| "Tuscan Sun", Etching ink and oil stick on panel |
Encaustic is the medium in which pigments and resin are melted into beeswax. The paint is applied molten and can then be layered, incised, scraped into multifaceted and translucent works. Some works are begun as monoprints that will be integrated into work with oil, oil stick, or encaustic.
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| "Japanne", encaustic on 300 lb. watercolor paper |
Both of us have extensive experience in the visual arts. I received my BFA in Painting from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I have exhibited widely in Boston and New England. My work was included in the first issue of New American Paintings from Open Studios Press. I am a member of New England Wax the Women’s Caucus for Art, and a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association.
With a BA in Fine Arts in 1979, Soosen Dunholter’s career as an artist has continued to evolve through master classes with printmakers and painters, as well as a wide variety of artist workshops she attended where she experimented and explored a variety of philosophies and mediums. She is a member of Monadnock Art, Friends of the Dublin Art Colony, and a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association.
The New Hampshire Art Association is a nonprofit professional art association founded in 1940. It is one of the oldest statewide art associations in the country with over 450 artist members who live and work primarily in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont.
For more information:
New Hampshire Art Association
Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery
136 State Street, Portsmouth, NH 03802
Phone: 603-431-4230
E-Mail: nhartassociation@comcast.net
Website: www.nhartassociation.org
