November 2 – November 17, 2019
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 2, 2 - 4 pm
Key Projects is pleased to present Asterism, featuring the work of David Ambrose, Paula Overbay and Kit Warren on view from November 2 through November 17, 2019. Opening reception is on Saturday, November 2 from 2 - 4 pm. Key Projects is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 – 5 pm and by appointment during the run of the exhibition.
Asterism explores the use of the dot technique in current practices. From Georges Seurat (1859-1891) to Australian aboriginal paintings, small dots of pure color have been employed to create vibrant and dynamic surfaces. Seurat sought a logical way of painting dots of complementary colors next to one another to enhance each color’s intensity, while Australian aboriginal artists, wanting to conceal their sacred stories within their works, used dots to protect them.
David Ambrose’s paintings on paper are dense – made up of tiny dots of intense color and color combinations that conceal his process. The paper, which has been pierced, is completely immersed in a flow of watercolor and gouache. The surface is then embellished with tiny dots, creating an all-over composition of patterns and rhythm. Ambrose references gothic and classical cathedrals, architectural floor plans and maps. His paintings suggest a dreamscape or otherworldly place.
In contrast, Paula Overbay’s paintings are light and airy, made up of swirling patterns of dots seemingly suspended in space. Overbay’s world encompasses the smallest of detail found in nature, down to the cellular level. Her compositions are familiar yet mysterious and her process is slow and meticulous. Using bottles with different nibs, paint is squeezed out, one dot at a time.
Kit Warren’s painting on paper is large-scale and spacious. A large landmass-like shape sits center stage while vignettes composed of small golden dots dance across the surface. Scenes composed of these vignettes develop and take shape, congregate in corners and then seemingly float away. Patterns created in Warren’s larger works make an appearance with greater density in her smaller works on paper.
About the artists:
David Ambrose studied at the Universita Italiana Per Stranieri, Perugia, Italy, and received degrees from Muhlenberg College (BA) and the University of Pennsylvania (MFA). His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in the US and abroad, including: Atlantic Academy, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ; Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ; Jersey City Museum, NJ; the Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ; the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ; Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA; the Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK; Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; Lori Bookstein Gallery, Thatcher Projects, McKenzie Fine Art and Jeff Bailey Gallery in New York and the Pennsylvania School of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA. Ambrose has received awards from Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Atlantic Academy, Kaiserslautern, Germany. His work is in numerous public and private collections including: The Library of Congress, Arkansas Art Center, Muhlenberg College, the Montclair Art Museum, NJ; The Capitol Group, Los Angeles, CA; the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, GA; the Noyes Museum of Art, NJ; the New Jersey State Museum, NJ; the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ.
Paula Overbay was born in Longview, Washington and currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions, including: Muriel Guepin Gallery, Brooklyn and New York; Jeffrey Coploff Gallery, New York; Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery, Portland OR; Mixture Gallery, Houston, TX; Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Portland State University, Portland, OR; Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, OR and Eastern Washington University, Spokane, WA; ODETTA, New York; Westbeth Gallery, New York; Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn NY; Victoria Hall Drawing Rooms, Jersey City, NJ; Schema Projects, Brooklyn, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Anchorage History and Fine Arts Museum, Anchorage, AK; Carnegie Museum of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA. Overbay has been awarded residencies at the Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL; MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH; Constance Saltonstall Foundation of the Arts, Ithaca, NY and at Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee, Belgium. She holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR.
Kit Warren is a visual artist working in Brooklyn, NY. Kit’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and has most recently been included in exhibits at Kenise Barnes Fine Art, PS 122 Gallery, Park Place Gallery, The Cluster Gallery, LaBodega Gallery, SCOPE NY and The Painting Center. She has been featured in Posit Journal #21, Works and Days Quarterly, and 100 Philosophers, 100 Artworks, 100 Words, Aesthetics for Birds. She graduated with a BFA from University of Pennsylvania, an MFA from School of Visual Arts, and a certificate in multi-media from NYU. She has been awarded fellowships at Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Saltonstall Foundation, and was a 2018 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellow. This summer she was a Conception Arts Fellow at the Chateau Orquevaux Residency.