ALL Gallery opening this Saturday

ALL Arts & Literature Laboratory
Erector Square, 319 Peck St. Building 2, New Haven, (203) 671-5175
On Paper: Recent Work by Lee LaForte and Watermarks
July 7—Aug. 6, 2007
Artists' reception: Sat., July 7, 5—7 p.m.

Press release

Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL), is proud to present two concurrent exhibitions: a solo exhibition of recent works by West Haven artist Lee LaForte and Watermarks, a juried exhibition of recent work by ten national and international artists.

The works in Lee LaForte's (West Haven, CT) solo exhibition aim to evoke contemplation on the human condition, oppressive restriction of thought and action, and emotions such as fear, xenophobia, and modern day alienation. These bright and colorful works, ranging from abstract to naïve, intimate the artist's exploration into the darkness of his psyche. The title of "Phoenix," for example, hints at the symbolism of the archetypal metaphor of the mythical bird rising, a metaphor for the cycle of life (birth-death-rebirth). LaForte believes his works suggest humanity's "desire for salvation through the light of love, asking questions to which answers remain elusive."

The juried exhibition Watermarks features artists Mindy Bray (Denver, CO); Cheri Charlton (Athens, OH); Stephen Henderson (Hamden, CT); Aniko Horvath (New Haven, CT); Jeemin Kim (New York, NY); Presley Martin (Oakland, CA); (Brooklyn, NY); Christina Massey (Brooklyn, NY); Morgaine Pauker (Westport, CT); Sumi Perera (Surrey, England); and Suzanne Siegel (Guilford, CT). The works selected for this exhibition range from realism to abstraction, incorporating both traditional watercolor and mixed media techniques.

Highlights of the Watermarks exhibition include:

• "Via dell'Amore" by Mindy Bray explores connections between public architecture and the ways in which we attempt to control natural processes, such as snow removal, dams, and erosion control. Through scale and perspective, her work creates a relationship between the viewer's body and a manipulated environment.

• "Blue" by Stephen Henderson evokes a sense of dimensionality through layered applications of watercolor, gouache, tissue paper and salt on paper. Henderson's strong mark making techniques are balanced by a range of luminous, delicate colors.

• Aniko Horvarth's compositions are a complexity of delicate dots, small brushstrokes, and the residual mark making of watercolor paint allowed to flow naturally across a piece of paper.

• Jeemin Kim's work focuses on the physical oppositions between geometric lines/organic gesture, black/white, processes of wetting and drying, and the flat surface/illusionistic space that gives the remnant of a frozen moment in time.

• Christina Massey twists and ties painted paper and scraps of canvas aiming to redefine "painting." Her "Sculpture Painting 15" projects up to 6" from the wall, and the contrasting materials of paper and canvas evoke raw organic tactile surfaces.

• Presley Martin's "Untitled" pieces record the beauty of subtle natural phenomena that occurs when clay is poured, in liquid form, onto paper; as the clay dries, it shrinks, and tension between the clay and paper or fabric causes it to bend and pucker into graceful shapes.

• "Glosa Interlinearis" by Sumi Perera is a watercolor painting on an embossed paper reflecting on how watermarks help retain copyright control and allow hidden messages to be included within paper. The reader is invited to read between the lines and crack the code. Lines and spaces have been left blank, to be filled in by the viewer, thus reversing final editorial control.

• Suzanne Siegel's representational watercolors combine memories and observations of New England locations, yet her true subject is always the dialogue between paper, water, and paint.

There will be an artists' reception for both shows at the gallery this Saturday, July 7, 5—7 p.m.