Opening Reception | Saturday, June 25, 2016 | 7-10PM | RSVP

Dab Art is pleased to present FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING, an exhibition of figurative artwork at The HUD Gallery. Inspired by the classical theme that remains of persistent interest to contemporary artists, this exhibit explores figures in multiple genres and contexts. 

Featuring monumental nudes by Ghislaine Fremaux, mixed media infused with a sense of loss, a stoic gratitude and a poetic depiction of time's passage. Rollence Patugan’s black and white photo series woMEN, investigates the emotional and philosophical relationship of the visual and physical conventions of the female/male identity. While his meticulous and virtuosic technique is indebted to the history of classical painting, Donald Rizzo’s images themselves engage startlingly contemporary ideas about the representation of the human form and psyche. 

The unconventional and schematic use of LEGO’s by Andy Bauch reveals an attitude that draws equivocally from the genre of history painting and pop culture. Perhaps the most expressionistic piece we have ever exhibited is the interactive installation Will you wear my body? by Maria DiFranco. This immense and boldly graphic piece is the culmination of experience and research on what it means to be a woman with cancer. 

Blair Cahill stands alone from the contrasting brushwork; her embroidery and mixed media works are brimming with the intensity of human presence and signifies a persistent fascination with the tension between bold painterly gesture and figurative content.

For Davia King, the practice of drawing, like painting, is a subject in it’s self. Her drawings are thus the opposite of pure sensation, seeming to be impulsive while in fact they are highly constructed. It is in this formal paradox that the depth of content resides. Colette Standish seems to disregard the classical polarities of abstraction and representation, surface and frame. Assertive gestures, a lush palette, and the dynamic interchange of light and dark are all traits of a distinctive style in her Abstracting The Figure series. 

While there is not one style that encapsulates all of the works, incorporated inFIGURATIVELY SPEAKING are the influences of the masters of Matisse, Picasso, and Modigliani. However, most evident in all of the works in this exhibit is an archetypal portrait type, more specifically an idealized human figure.

Artists on Exhibit: Blair Cahill + Maria DiFranco + Donald Rizzo + Rollence Patugan + Ghislaine Fremaux + Andy Bauch + Colette Standish + Davia King

Blair Cahill obtained her BFA from California Institute of the Arts and then attended the University of Arts London, Chelsea for her MA in Fine Art. Recent exhibitions include; “5x5x5”, Hammond Hall Gallery, Jacksonville, AL (2016), “96% Percent Visible”, Menier Gallery, London, United Kingdom (2016), BWAC Juried Show, Brooklyn, NY (2016).