Envisioning
Natural Forces
April
14 – April 29, 2018
Opening:
Saturday, April 14th, 3 - 5 pm
Key Projects is pleased
to present Envisioning Natural Forces,
a group exhibition featuring the work of Chris Arabadjis, Jonathan Cowan and
Jaanika Peerna. On view from April 14 – April 29, 2018, with an opening
reception on Saturday, April 14th from 3 - 5 pm. Key Projects is
open Saturday and Sundays from 1 – 5 pm and by appointment.
Storm systems – how are they captured or perceived visually?
Leonardo da Vinci created the “Deluge” drawings during the last decade of his
life that depicted a vast disaster of wind and water. The drawings captured not
only the movement of water but the energy of a storm. After last fall’s
hurricane season, the thought of storms and the forces of nature kept lingering
in my mind. Artists continue to explore natural phenomena in various ways. With
Envisioning Natural Forces, we look
at them from the perspective of systems, the spiritual and emotion.
Chris Arabadjis’ ball point pen drawings are derived from
simple systems that originate in the micro level. Beginning with a single mark
and a rule for repetition, the drawings grow organically. For Arabadjis, who
studied theoretical physics, the drawings can be viewed as mini physics models
or simulations, however without the need for scientific rigor. The drawings have
a spiral or circular orientation that illicit a flow of energy.
Jonathan Cowan’s paintings contain a background of a night
sky or a landscape with a large, central symbol stitched with black thread in
the foreground. Their presence is imminent, dark and mysterious. A sense of
brooding hangs in the air. Cowan’s paintings have an apocalyptic vision like
that described in Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
Jaanika Peerna’s tangle of lines and cuts on Mylar
intertwine to create a dynamic swirl of energy. Peerna’s lines are drawn using
the full weight of her body and gravity. The verticality of her line is
disrupted cross-wise with the wetness of a large brush and by long, physical
cuts that break the stillness. The resulting Mylar sheets are turned around themselves
in a vital towering and spiraling movement.
About the artists:
Chris Arabadjis was
born and raised in Syracuse, NY. Prior to earning an MFA at Pratt Institute, he
studied physics for 14 years at SUNY Buffalo and UMass Amherst. Arabadjis has
shown his work in the metropolitan areas of New York, Boston, and San Francisco
as well as in Europe. His drawings were recently reproduced in several poetry
collections and anthologies, and in the July 2017 issue of Physics Today. He
lives and works in New York City.
Jonathan Cowan was
born in1982 in Temple, Texas. He attended The University of Texas at San
Antonio where he earned a BFA in 2006. He has participated in numerous
exhibitions including shows at Simuvac Projects, Brooklyn, NY; Gray
Contemporary, Houston, TX; Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY; The Parlour
Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY; c2c projects, San Francisco, CA; Ventana 244, Brooklyn,
NY; and TSA New York, Brooklyn, NY. He lives and works in Boston, MA.
Jaanika Peerna is
an Estonian-born artist and educator living and working primarily in New York
since 1998. She has exhibited her work and performed extensively in New
York as well as in Berlin, Paris, Tallinn, Barcelona, Venice, Moscow, Dubai,
Sydney, Canberra, and Cologne. Her work is in numerous private collections in
the USA and Europe and has been acquired by the Fonds National d’Art
Contemporain, Paris. Her work is represented in the United States by JHB
Gallery and ARC Fine Art, and in Europe by Galerie Ulf Larsson in
Cologne. She was awarded the FID Grand Prize in 2016 for her work in drawing.