Sunday, May 5, 2013

FInding Art Off the Beaten Path

© CJ Nye - All the Little Cashews - oil on unprimed canvas

Caution, road trips are sometimes required to find what you're looking for.  I found some some very nice works by Caroline J. Nye and Bernard Klevickas on Long Island.  Exhibiting at a precious little gallery in Bay Shore called the Second Avenue Fire House Gallery, these two NYC based artists have presented a very elegant installation of their works.  The exhibition's title, "Source" refers to materials as opposed to an artist's influences.

Caroline (CJ) is a painter and presents several works that delve into not only the material of paint but into the nature of the support.  All the Little Cashews, (above) works very delicately with the often unpredictable nature of raw canvas.  CJ creates a variety of symbols and shapes referencing both art history, signal flags and to my eye the nature of a group conversation.

© CJ Nye - Mr. Alexander Pablo Androver - oil on canvas (photo from the artist's website)

Another of CJ's works, Mr. Alexander Pablo Androver, successfully explores the nature of canvas as a support for paint by returning to its draping nature as essentially a fabric.   Here, her playful title, a mashup of Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso and Miguel Androver gives us clues that the piece enjoys a rich inner life at the intersection of movement and deconstructed space with a flair for fashion.

© Bernard Klevickas - Untitled (six pack) - Powder coating and automotive paint 
on pressed stainless steel with polished areas and aluminum base

Bernard Klevickas' metal sculptures also deal with the idea of "source".  From his time as an arts fabricator Bernard has collected discards and sought to repurpose fragments.  Also involved is a reflection on the nature of the steel and it's reaction to pressure as it is pressed into the wave forms that make up many of the pieces in this exhibit.

© Bernard Klevickas - Untitled (Roswell) - Pressed, welded and polished stainless steel
(Photo from artist's website)

Another of Bernard's pieces on exhibit, Roswell, shows his sensitivity to the material through the use of curves formed by hydraulic press to obtain strength for the upper part of this slightly anthropomorphic piece contrasted with the slightly springy nature of its "legs". 

Source is at the Second Avenue Firehouse Gallery through June 15 (Regular hours Saturdays from 10:30-6:30 And by appointment.  Contact: Steven Ceraso  (516) 643-2179)




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