 Brook Caballero: I Believe In The Future Now Thanks For The Optimism 22 x 30 in., watercolor and oil on paper Flight Plan Brook Caballero, Dana Carlson, Orly Cogan, Sean Cavanaugh, Kirsten Deirup, Franklin Evans, Philip Knoll, Jenny Laden, Dona Lief, Jeffrey Milstein, Amy Ross, Paul Villinski Morgan Lehman is pleased to present our first summer group show titled "Flight Plan", featuring Brook Caballero, Dana Carlson, Orly Cogan, Sean Cavanaugh, Kirsten Deirup, Franklin Evans, Philip Knoll, Jenny Laden, Dona Lief, Jeffrey Milstein, Amy Ross, and Paul Villinski. Technically speaking, flight plans are filed by pilots with the local Aviation Authority prior to flying an aircraft to a destination. The flight plans include basic anticipated information such as departure and arrival points, estimated time of arrival, alternate airports in case of bad weather, the pilot's name, and number of passengers. These plans additionally provide a way of alerting rescuers if the scheduled flight is overdue. The symbolic notion of a flight plan can be described as the need to travel or escape (be it emotionally, spiritually, or physically) which seems to be an element of the ever complicated human condition. Whether we "fly away" on a mental vacation, leave reality behind by imbibing mind altering chemicals, or literally mobilize from one place to another for a change of scenery, we all have our own escapes. For "Flight Plan", each participating artist brings his/her own interpretation to the show's name sake, with some literally addressing the concept of flight, while others explore the metaphoric possibilities of the subject. Brook Caballero's strange characters inhabit a far away world of snow swept plains backed by golden sunsets. These psychedelic, idealized landscape paintings reflect the perennial truth that communion with nature can bring about inner peace. Caballero conveys the unfamiliar yet familiar moment of acute awareness beyond the every day conscious mind, leaving the viewer both hopeful and curious. Dana Carlson's tapestry paintings initially seem sweet and innocent. Employing pastel paint, glitter, garland stitching and beads, Carlson's work communicates contemporary ideas of romanticism. Rainbows and flowers are combined with ominous birds of prey to convey a "fight or flight" confrontation with our present reality. Orly Cogan's stitched nymphet playmates engage the viewer with capricious dualities that are demure as well as unabashed. Issues of gender and identity are explored, as the canvases used are often vintage linens and embroidery made by "proper" women of a by gone age. Sean Cavanaugh's exquisitely painted rock portraits are extracted from their surroundings, providing the viewer a fresh perspective on their forms and textures. The rocks defy gravity within a field of white, and scale becomes meaningless; are they pebbles, islands or planets? They function as geological Rorschach tests. Kirsten Deirup's meticulously rendered surrealistic rooms, disembodied tufts of earth, and pet cloud portraits are like private escape pods for the viewer. A familiar object or idea becomes alien, and our perspective is sent askew as Deirup takes us along on a journey through her subconscious, often times pushing the edge of our comfort zones. Franklin Evans employs colliding perspectives, obsessive marks, and fantastical forms to create magical and kaleidoscopic spaces of incongruous worlds which overlap, extend, invert and encompass one another. These mysterious landscapes emerge from the vast ground between analysis, intuition, intention and chance, consciousness and unconsciousness, the medium's extension, and the artists will. Philip Knoll's ironic cartoon storyboards are the artist's way of escaping into (or from?) his own subconscious. His graphite on panel "paintings" use stream-of-consciousness imagery to reveal personal meditations on truth, pain and the human condition, yet Knoll's wry sense of humor always reflects the silver lining of life's sometimes harsh realities, inevitably leaving a smile on the face of the viewer. Jenny Laden approaches the theme with "Airborne", a dream-like self-portrait presenting the artist floating over a simple blue-skied, tree-speckled landscape, arms outstretched, seemingly reaching through the canvas to take hold of the viewer. Laden's work is all at once peaceful and sinister, painterly and graphically arresting. Dona Lief's finely composed paintings are rimmed with gold leaf frames and at first appear historic and academic. Upon closer inspection, one finds the meticulously painted faces of pop icons Madonna and Michael Jackson on the bodies of moths and butterflies. These images examine the constant metamorphosis of these superstars who have, with such constant evolution, managed to remain in our collective consciousness for so many years. Jeffrey Milstein utilizes the idea of flight literally, with his elegant aerial photographs capturing airplanes flying directly above his ninety-degree angled camera. These sleek modern forms are extracted from their surroundings and when located in a field of white, all sense of scale and motion is lost, leaving the viewer imagining that the planes themselves could have come into the studio for a portrait session. Amy Ross paints creatures that are part bird and part fungi, addressing aviation from a surrealist's perspective. These morphed creatures subvert traditional botanical illustration by approaching the close study of the natural world through the lens of genetic engineering and mutation gone awry. They are simultaneously beautiful and grotesque; fantastic yet somehow probable. Paul Villinski's creates kinetic butterfly sculptures from discarded beer cans. Car crushed Budweisers become gilded Swallowtails or Monarchs arrayed on precise balances and animated by air currents. They are intended as quiet messengers of hope, community, recovery and the possibility of change. Exhibition: June 25 - July 28, 2006 Gallery hours: Tues-Sat 11 am - 6 pm, and by appointment Morgan Lehman Gallery 317 10th Ave USA-New York, NY 10001 Telephone +1 212 268 6699 Fax +1 212 268 6766 Email art@morganlehmangallery.com www.morganlehmangallery.com |
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