Part II: November 6 – 21, 2015
Transmission Gallery is pleased to present Variations on Abstraction: 2010-2015, curated by Sacramento-based artist Robert-Jean Ray. The exhibition represents diverse approaches, and responses, to the innovations of abstract/nonrepresentational art; showcasing paintings, mixed-media constructions, sculptures and works on paper by such artists as Willie Marlowe (New York), Lisa Kreuziger (London UK), Linda Welch (Iowa), Margaret Woodcock (Washington), Lillian Almeida (Oregon), Rajiv Khilnani (San Francisco), Mark Eanes (Benicia), Angela Baker (Oakland), Mati Russo (Los Angeles), Lou Bermingham (Los Gatos), Diane Abt (Berkeley) and William Ishmael (Sacramento), among many others.
From Ray’s perspective, the pursuit of abstract art started out as a visual examination and self-reflective meditation on the possibilities of twentieth century modernism. Later, at the advent of the post-modern era, when artists sought to challenge the ideology of modern aesthetics, it served as a vehicle for the social critique of a world slowly recovering from the ravages of war. As time progressed, the poetic, intuitive, and spiritual elements of abstraction began to surface.
Many movements and artistic pursuits have sprung forth from the initial innovations associated with abstract art, and today’s artists continue to cull its history in the quest to find new approaches toward self-expression. Today, as humanity strives to navigate through the perils and uncertainty of the twenty-first century, many of these artists have found nonrepresentational art to be a means of response to occurrences around the globe as well as close to home.
Variations on Abstraction: 2010-2015 is a follow-up to Ray’s curatorial project Abstract: 2000-2010, presented at the Sacramento Temporary Contemporary Gallery in 2011. Other curatorial projects include the Human Voice: the Human Presence in Art and Collage, Etc. at Gallery21TEN, Sacramento (2012/2013), and Layers at Transmission Gallery, Oakland (2013). His work has been exhibited at b. sakata garo (2009/2012/2015), was included in the exhibition Poetics of Disposability at the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara (2012), and featured in a one-person exhibition at Transmission Gallery, Oakland (2014).
