The Summer Salon
Preeti Varma: On The Walls, Karin Bandelin, Andree Brown and Laurence Elle Groux: Sculptures on Surfaces
Curated by Connie Lee
June 27, 2023 – September 09, 2023
Preeti Varma: On the Walls
For the first time all the wall space at Living with Art is dedicated to one artist.
Varma’s paintings echo the artists observations of mundane things that we all see daily and often don’t notice. Fire Hydrants and sewer covers are objects that the artist describes as physically present but visually absent. These forms inform her abstract paintings and mixed media works on paper.
On the Walls includes works from ongoing and overlapping series within Varma’s catalogue. “Nefelibata,” (loosely translated from Portuguese as “Cloud Walker”), Varma began this body of work in 2015 as she moved from India to Singapore, and then to New York City. She started working on the “Innsaei,” series in 2017, which focuses on the patterns found in the city. These paintings take on the topography, the layers, and textures of the urban landscape.
Varma’s mixed media works abandon the bright color palette of her paintings to illustrate that which is elusive. “Aesthetics of the Quotidian,” “Unity in Diversity,” and “Memory” collectively are layers of thoughts created with digital images that the artist captures in abundance, and wax on rice paper, created between 2015 and 2019.
The New York City based artist was born 1970, New Delhi, India
Karin Bandelin, Andree Brown, Laurence Elle Groux: Sculptures on Surfaces
The sculptures are cohabitating with Varma’s paintings as if they know each other well, but the conversation takes place between the three sculptors as independent objects that ask the viewer to acknowledge their own preferences in form, either abstract, representational, or figurative. The hand of the artist is visible in each of their sculptures, allowing us to recognize their aesthetic choices beyond materials and finish.
Karin Bandelin:
Bandelin’s sculptures have a story that women can relate to or tell their own version of. In conversations with the curator the artist often referred to them as the girls. The girls are figurative torsos that speak to the social constrictions that historically and continually undermine women in the U.S and abroad.
The artist is based in Berlin and was born, 1953, Hamburg Germany
Andree Brown:
Brown’s leaf series is representational. Stylistically modern, the forms are simple and minimal interpretations of shapes found in nature. For the artist, a lifelong New Yorker, they serve as a substitute for the outdoors when it isn’t readily available. She creates them with dyed wax or porcelain. The wax sculptures are matte with a visually soft hand that is in direct contradiction to the gloss finish of the porcelain. Both mediums are mysteriously firm but require the artist to treat them with care and for the viewer to inevitably make a comparison.
The artist is based in New York City and was also born there in 1955
Laurence Elle Groux:
Groux’s ceramic work is abstract, if you look closely, you might see a bird or other form embedded within the complex structure. Her sculptures are cut and layered piece by piece and they are filled with emotional and personal content. Elle as everyone calls her is introspective which is inherent in her work.
The artist is based in New York City and was born 1972, Lausanne, Switzerland
