“OR,” the title of artist Suzanne Warren’s upcoming solo show references the conjunction used to introduce another possibility, and in heraldry, the tincture of gold. Warren says, “This exhibit is the result of a personal journey that started in Padua, Italy, where Giotto painted the life of Jesus in the Scrovegni Chapel. The parallels between Giotto’s time and ours — the plague, the wars, the staggering inequality — are too evident. His work was a new iconography that opened up three-dimensional space, and deeper dimensions of empathy.” Warren’s process references Giotto’s materials and techniques: clay, gold-leaf, egg-tempera, burnishing, small brushstrokes – ancient and slow, making her practice an act of contemplation.
The color palette also harkens back to Giotto, and most religious iconography of the era. The use of gold makes its own statement. With its finite supply, gold is a reminder that things end. That endless growth is a myth. Most importantly, gold’s capability to interact with light reminds us that art is alive. As light or viewpoint change, so does the work, projecting different moods and feelings.
In her artist statement Warren notes, “It has often been said that the modern age ‘disenchanted’ the world. Technology, plastic, industrial design, disposable goods, and the commodification of everything, robbed human experience of wonder, mystery, spiritual nourishment and connection with nature. The work in this exhibit stems from a desire to move in the opposite direction. To step away from abstraction, virtual relationships, and meta-experience, toward reality, community, and nature. To find the extraordinary in the ordinary, and the sacred in the neglected.”
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Venue: @2413hyperion (project and community space in Silver Lake)
Pictured: “Bread for All, and Roses Too”
11″ x 14″ Tempera and gold leaf on panel
