Opening Reception: Saturday February 20, 5:00-7:00
Show runs through March 19, 2015.
Curated By David Mordini
When viewing Joseph
Shetler’s drawings and Jay Hendrick’s paintings, complex simplicity comes
to mind; two opposing concepts intertwined into a unifying force. It is
accomplished through tedious labor and dedication to their respective mediums.
Joseph Shetler draws
inspiration and general philosophy from his Mennonite background. He was raised
to reject all things that create chaos through keeping life simple and minimal.
He carries this simplicity through his work and life. One gets lost in
meditation through the peace and tranquility of his work. Simplicity cannot
exist without complexity. Joseph’s work is
created through thousands of lines that might otherwise create disorder, yet
through meticulous labor they are organized into a spiritual simplicity.
While Joseph strives to
reject chaos, Jay Hendrick seems to embrace it. He sees the world as chaotic
and diverse and through paint he mashes layers into unified paintings. He
questions the meaning of value through the use of multiples, and putting
paintings through microscopy, digitization, and erasure. He uses grids as a
stabilizing force and color as a representation of cultures. It is easy to be
mesmerized by his mazes and ability to mesh colors, patterns, and ideas into a
unified cohesive body of work.
While
very different, both artist are masters of their medium. They manage to weave
this chaotic universe into simplicity.
