Join us in the galleries Tuesday - Friday (11 - 5) until November 9, 2013 to view DANIEL GALAS: Not Fade Away, and LEIF LOW-BEER: First Conference of the International Network of Personal Relationships (INPR), two solo exhibitions. Here are some shots of the opening this past Saturday, September 14.
"Daniel Galas began his current series of work two years ago after passing Lafayette High School on a visit to his family in Buffalo. Using the ornate terracotta French Renaissance Revival structure as a starting point, he created work that incorporated local historic architecture as a way to explore the city. The resulting linoleum block prints, carved on-site, successfully capture the essence of the buildings, revealing just enough carefully selected details to make them recognizable. Although flattened and distorted due to the medium and immediacy of the process, the aura of these structures-reflecting a foundation of people who designed, built, frequented, and preserved them - is apparent in the anthropomorphic images. Integrating this same style, Daniel will create a new interactive sculpture for BAS modeled after the Central Terminal in the likeness of a large body cavity, in which visitors can immerse themselves in the 'belly'. He writes, 'I can't help but to think of the structures I'm inspired by as possessing characteristics of living organisms...windows for eyes, towers as heads, doorways as mouths. It's important for me to portray these qualities with subtlety so that they do not become outright caricatures.'"
"Leif Low-beer's solo exhibition at Buffalo Arts Studio (BAS) is an installation of individual sculptures that interact with low-hanging two-dimensional mixed media works to produce a singular integrated composition. The artist describes his approach 'literally and metaphorically as a gathering place-a place where a collection of languages and gestures come together, where I can explore the relationships. Like a Saul Steinberg dinner party, in which each individual is defined by the nature of the rendering, I am excited about a gathering of distinct personalities.' Experimenting instinctively with varying tones and desities of color, depth, texture, and line, Leif's spontaneous juxtapositions of abstract and figurative forms invite the viewer to mentally fill in the blanks, supplementing the artist's subtle visual cues and playful, suggestive titles with his or her own subjective perspective. This conversation, or collaboration, between artist and viewer produces a liberating and enveloping experience, the satisfying result of tackling a visual puzzle with infinite solutions."
-Cori Wolff, Executive/Artistic Director