On April 7, the Bachelor of Fine Arts show “Quintessence” opened, featuring work by Jess Smith, Nadine O’Brien and Kira Norby. This exhibition included both 2D and 3D works, such as printmaking, painting and metal casting. While all three artists had very different ideas and inspirations, their work was able to come together to create an incredibly cohesive art show. You can see this show at the Colorado Mesa University Gallery on 437 Colorado Ave. until April 29.
Smith’s work consisted of cast iron, bronze, aluminum and brass. He had two series in this exhibition; the most prominent one started with the piece titled “Conception” and ended with “Restriction.” This work was a collection of boxes containing a ball, which progressively got bigger and exploded out of the boxes. This piece is an excellent allegory for the cycle of birth and decay, as showcased with the sphere/spikes being formed and growing and the box being destroyed in the process. This idea was touched on briefly in his artist’s statement at the beginning of the opening.
His other piece, “Metamorphosis,” drew our attention with the unique textures on the forms. These were done using a method called vapocasting, which involved pouring molten metal into a styrofoam form. While the forms are typically buried in sand, Smith chose to experiment by burying his forms in popcorn to secure them for casting. This helped to create the unique surface textures and to turn them into relics of a performance piece, as all of the castings had very volatile reactions.
O’Brien’s work consisted mostly of printmaking, with one work in 3D that is prominently displayed in the front of the gallery. O’Brien’s prints are monotypes that were embossed and then debossed, meaning that she painted ink onto a sheet of plexiglass, then created texture on both sides of the paper before running it through the press to create a print. This added uniqueness to each of her prints, as seen in “So Without.” O’Brien’s 3D piece consists of bent steel and cast bronze, and hangs from the gallery ceiling. This sculpture, which is untitled, utilizes fiber-optic cables in the center to accentuate the form. In her artist’s statement, O’Brien said she drew influence from Wassily Kandinsky, an Expressionist who assigned emotions to color and utilized “truly abstract form” in his compositions. This inspiration shows through in O’Brien’s work, as much of it is abstract and uses the colors to bring out an emotional response.
Norby’s work is smaller in scale, but equally as detailed and emotional as the rest of the works displayed. Norby utilizes watercolor to create small clusters of intimate landscapes. She creates all of her work en plein air, meaning she paints outside with nature as a direct reference. Her work features both prominent landmarks such as the Bookcliffs and scenes from hidden places out in the world. Paintings like “February 25, Ouray” and “October 15, Ouray” were created in various seasons, as some of them feature winter, fall and gray skies. Despite being smaller scale, all of her work features realistic detail, even down to individual marks on trees.
“Quintessence” came together to be a beautiful show with each artist’s work complementing the others very nicely. We encourage you to see this exhibition and support these artists in their future endeavors. The next and final BFA show for Spring 2017 will be on May 5, and will feature the works of Patricia Gibson, Nicole LaRose and Justin Squier.
