Gray Contemporary is pleased to announce two exhibitions, Robby Scott in the Main Gallery and Rebecca Braziel in the Second Gallery. Both exhibitions open Saturday, July 8th from 5 – 8 pm, and will continue through August 11, 2017.
In the Main Gallery is a selection of black acrylic skins in which Scott is exploring memory and psychological associations with formal investigations with materials. In the Second Gallery is an ongoing series of work focused on the devastation of wildfires, in which Braziel is covering found burnt tree bark with varying sizes of glass beads to resemble insect eggs.
Robby Scott:
Trauma and personal experience are the core components within my studio practice. The paintings are catalysts for remembered emotional experience, portals for deeper examination and reflection. It is through haptic means that the work bridges the gap between the physical and psychological. I want to slow down, to be mentally quiet and completely entranced in a moment; I want my work to be felt, to be engaging and experienced through a moment that is visceral.
I describe my process as a type of material intelligence, each medium having its own natural tendencies that can be altered and heightened. Simple actions contribute to the processes the work undergoes: sift, pour, spray, melt, sand, erase, mix, tear, drop. The language of what actions I take correlate with the surfaces and objects. The texture is utilized as a way to slow down the read of the work from the audience. The varying textures and surfaces not only act as process driven research, but to activate one’s perceptual response; to see surface and be able to feel its relationship to the viewer without having to actually touch it.
The color black is prevalent in my studio practice as it establishes an emotional tone in the work. The dark tones and muted variants reflect the works underlying personal narratives and create continuity between works. They are portals for deeper experience, inward reflections of one’s dark thoughts and memories.
About the Artist:
Robby Scott (b. 1991) lives and works in Iowa City, Iowa. He attended The University of Iowa for his MFA in Painting (2017) and Luther College for his BA in Art (2009).Recent exhibitions include: Gravitas, Iowa City, IA (2017); William Frederick Findley, Iowa City, IA (2016); Recent Works, Iowa City, IA (2015); Surplus Bulletin, Dimensions Variable, Miami, FL (2014); Welcome to the Show, Decorah, IA (2014)
Rebecca Braziel:
In 2012, I became keenly focused on observing the aftermath of large scale wildfires, while focusing on how natural life continues after a disaster. Infatuated with the hope for regeneration, I began representing that in the form of mixed media sculptures made from the tree bark gathered on site. In this series I was thinking deeply about how most wildfires start through human carelessness and that insects are the first to make use of the natural material after such an incident. By covering the surfaces of burnt tree bark in tiny glass beads whose size and shape closely imitate that of insect eggs, I represent nature’s persistence and grandeur.
This connection motivates me to leave the city of Houston to become fully immersed in a new and beautiful landscape that is threatened by climate change and natural disaster. I have lived in the subtropical climate of the south my entire life observing the flat landscape and evergreen forests of Georgia, Louisiana, and East Texas. Researching wildfires on a national level, I discovered The Washington Post and many reputable sources declared 2015 one of the worst years for wildfires in American history. While fires continue to be a serious threat, the outbreak of pine beetles due to climate change has begun to attract national attention. My goal is to travel along the West Coast along with an assistant to observe and document the impact of wildfires and pine-beetles in the forests of California and Southern Oregon. I will fly into San Diego, and over the course of a week, make my way up to Portland staying in state park cabins and campsites that have been predetermined based on my research and fire documentation provided by www.fire.ca.gov. From this experience, I will return to Houston and create art capable of stimulating conversation and environmental awareness amongst the people of America.
About the Artist:
Rebecca Braziel (b. 1986 Savannah, GA) lives and works in Houston, TX. She received a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia in 2008. Recent exhibitions include, Williams Tower Gallery, Houston, TX (2017); Hunter Gather Project, Houston, TX (2016); Katy Contemporary Art Museum, Katy, TX (2016); G Gallery, Houston, TX (2015); Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX (2014); Cliff Gallery, Dallas, TX (2014); Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA (2013); Recreate Cooperative Gallery, Savannah, GA (2012); SCAD Gallery, Central’s Art District, Hong Kong (2010)
