visions of the new terrain
Steven baris
michelle benoit
kevin finklea
kiki gaffney
judy gelles
mark khaisman
donald martiny
erik spehn
andrea wolfensberger
june 19 - july 24, 2021
➤ EXHIBITION PREMIERE | Saturday, June 19 | 12 PM - 5 PM - Walk-through at 4 PM
Pentimenti Gallery’s summer group exhibition, visions of the new terrain, brings the work of nine artists together in response to the rapid pace of technological development and environmental devastation in a world freshly marked by global pandemic and civic upheaval. These works do not endeavor to carry the challenges that unfurl around them, but rather serve as guides, artifacts, and glistening beacons amidst the uncertainty and tumult from which they emerged.
STEVEN BARIS’s paintings/constructions on gleaming MDF board present diagrammatic metaphors that speak to themes of discontinuity and disruption, presenting a symbology of technological and industrial motifs.
MICHELLE BENOIT’s paintings in wood and resin are simultaneously ethereal and iconic. Referencing both the sublime minimalism of futuristic technology and the tree-rings and gemstones of the natural world, Benoit’s work fuses the hyper-futuristic with the ecological, all while obscuring any sign of human touch.
KEVIN FINKLEA creates precious objects from a precise geometry infused with extensive knowledge and application of color symbolism. The works synthesize balance and asymmetry with powerfully resonant results.
KIKI GAFFNEY infuses forest landscapes and environmental motifs with bold and glimmering abstract motifs. The drawings imagine a dialogue between art and nature, in which each mirror and represent one another.
JUDY GELLES’s textual resin sculptures echo the most frequent refrains of parental authority, lending phrases such as “never go out without lipstick” a crisply stylized tone of commandment.
MARK KHAISMAN creates paintings out of cut, layered tape and acrylic paint. These dense, semi-abstract compositions center the crowds and group activities that have been impossible and yearned for during the pandemic.
DONALD MARTINY isolates movement and color in enormous brushstrokes that seem to build an alphabet of gestural symbols.
ERIK SPEHN creates paintings that appear pristine in their precision and exactitude. The images enclose monochromatic fields vibrating with energy within white territorial lines.
ANDREA WOLFENSBERGER’s mycelia work on paper in beeswax appear unearthed and ask the viewer whether organisms are art, or if the hand of the artist can aspire towards the creation of new life and environmental regeneration.
Artist bios are available upon request.
For all inquiries, please contact us at mail@pentimenti.com or +1 215.625.9990. To ease concerns about COVID-19, we will be following Pennsylvania’s latest health protocol.
GALLERY HOURS (to June 30) | Tuesday 12 - 5 pm | Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 5 pm | Saturday 12 - 5 pm
SUMMER GALLERY HOURS (July 1 - 24) | Monday - Tuesday by appointment | Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 5 pm | Saturday 12 - 4 pm