Kathy Grayson

Untitled (Pixel with Grid)

2014

Frank Shifreen, is an American artist, curator, and educator,  born 1948. Based in New York City, Shifreen is a neo-expressionist painter and multi-media artist. A graduate of the Pr...

Frank Shifreen, is an American artist, curator, and educator,  born 1948. Based in New York City, Shifreen is a neo-expressionist painter and multi-media artist. A graduate of the Pr...

Emoji 2019 Acrylic on canvas 10 x 8 inches Caption: There is a smiley face emoji hidden in plain sight in the painting. When I made this work I was thinking about the recent extensi...

Engima 2021 Acrylic on canvas 10 x 8 inches Caption: The title for Engima is inspired by the interesting shape this painting has in it as if there is a mythical reason for it. "Nat...

Vibrant abstract composition by an unknown artist. Presented in a wood slat frame with aluminum accents. Canvas size: 18"H x 24"W

Gouache and graphite on handmade paper. 14 x 11 inches unframed, 18.25 x 15.25 inches framed. Artist Statement: “As an artist, I find endless possibilities overwhelming and use self-imposed boundaries to focus my work. This often includes some combination of: a literal grid or graphite border, employment of barbecue skewers or wooden chopsticks in lieu of paintbrushes for mark making, use of a monochromatic or limited color palette, and a reliance on shape and pattern to tell a story. Limiting the elements at play adds a measure of gravity to each decision, and every detail about the paper, the viscosity of the paint, micro variations in hues, and even the sharpness of the point on a skewer matters. I’ve found that the more restrictions I put in place when I paint, the freer my work has become, allowing a tension to form between the organic and prescribed. Rather than sketch before starting a new piece, I spend time with the paper and begin to visualize possibilities. From there, I can expand the work incrementally. Whether I’m working in an adapted form of pointillism, playing with opacity and hue, or building patterns through repeating shape, the work evolves in its own time. It is an intentionally open process of discovery that seeks to uncover the greatest potential of the basest elements we have at our disposal”. - Kate Snow

'Kum Ba Ya' is an abstract pointillist painting featuring hues of red, green, yellow, blue and black. Robert Hightower is inspired by the work of Giotto, Hieronymus Bosch, Jean-François Millet, Roger Brown, Howard Arkley and Julian Opie. This piece is a part of a special immersive gallery installation, “The Apocalypse Simulacra,” which is a narrative presentation of the twilight of humanity, at the fulcrum of extinction by Atlanta-based artist Robert Hightower. Through stage-set constructions, readymade plastic models and paintings, Hightower investigates the duality of right/wrong, good/bad, eternal/ephemeral in light of the imminent end of the Human Epoch. It depicts the ideological origins of corporate greed and power, the reality of wealth distribution in the “American Dream,” and the socio-economic and environmental impacts of that collective greed. After receiving a BFA in sculpture from the University of Georgia, Hightower moved to New York City and participated in The Bronx Museum of the Art’s AIM Fellowship (Artist In the Marketplace). While in New York, his interests expanded to include art installation and the creation of spaces, and has since designed and built many unique homes, penthouses and restaurants throughout the United States. Hightower has returned home to Atlanta and will be presenting his most comprehensive body of work to date, “The Apocalypse Simulacra,” a unique universe of beauty, dichotomy and uncertainty. ARTIST STATEMENT The 'Apocalypse Simulacra' is a presentation of the twilight of humanity, at the fulcrum of extinction. The climate is the subject. The Simulacra is the Theme. First discussed by Plato, the Simulacra is the search for Truth in Duality. Developing into Post-Modernism with Nietzsche’s: truth=Truth. Now with Bauvillard, the Simulacra has evolved beyond Post-Modernism, into the wholesale confusion of the real/fake, the true/false… between reality and hyper-reality. This crumbling, confusing of the truth (not necessarily the Truth) is our Reality. For over two decades, I have created large format paintings of strip malls, suburban houses and toys. These paintings present singular images flattened-out (almost floating) on color-fields. They create a certain duality - a loving portrait of an inanimate object that would not normally be singled-out for affection. With my latest work, I have added a variety of iconic images: an airplane, a whisky bottle, a woman floating in a pool. The icons are presented in a pixelated or degenerated state. In addition to paintings, I have used adult-size building blocks to create sculptures or three-dimensional paintings. Using a child's toy at an adult-scale gives the building blocks an austere and powerful presence. The building blocks echo the blocks of the pixelated paintings...