The Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art tackles a broad theme of artwork in their new PoetsArtists show ICONIC, curated by Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt. There are many iconic or infamous pieces of art throughout history that have signified the pinnacle of an artist’s career. The museum notes that an icon is closely related to the idea of “classic” and “extraordinary.” However, iconic is much more than these loose definitions.
Vakseen, SEEN, acrylic on wood, 38 x 48"
“‘Iconic’ is meant to convey something that is bigger than a single theme, subject or idea,” according to the museum, “and that goes beyond the ordinary in terms of the author’s execution and capability…it is not bound by a particular idea or set of principles or one way of seeing. Iconic is bigger than that…”
New or previously unseen works will be on display at Wausau, where each artist has been called upon to demonstrate what they deem exceptional for them and their work. Artists such as Alessandro Tomassetti, Chelsie Murfee, Grant Gilsdorf and Suzy Smith will exhibit art that strikes them as their most “iconic.”
Ivan Pazlamatchev, Cameo, oil on canvas, 30 x 24"
Artist Vakseen, will be submitting his piece SEEN, an acrylic painting that looks like it could be magazine cut-outs of different body parts of Black women, displayed on a bold red background. “With this creation, I really wanted to get back to a larger scale, and the goal was to create something iconic that spoke to the climate in America,” Vakseen explains. “With the world focused on our experiences, 2020 is one of the first times I’ve ever felt seen and heard as a Black man. That speaks tremendously! I wanted to create something aspirational that expands on this concept.”
Vakseen produces similar works to SEEN, speaking out for women in a world that expects perfection. He seemingly stitches the “perfect features” together to convey themes of diversity and “acute imperfections and endless perfections every woman possess.” He uses personal and found imagery for his portraits and also gets inspiration from obscure, foreign and vintage fashion magazines.
Contemporary figurative painter Ivan Pazlamatchev will also have a female image shown in his piece Cameo. “[It’s] inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Lady with an Ermine,” Pazlamatchev says.
Arina Gordienko, What’s Left Behind, oil on Belgian linen, 19 x 27"
“I staged it with a model to closely resemble the composition and gesture, but I changed the ermine for a chameleon and, of course, the garments and accessories. I wanted to have my own narrative imbedded in the image. With different meaning and maybe some humor and pun.”
While composition and color are cornerstones for Pazlamatchev, he will structure these components around an idea, theme, message or narrative, which is the most crucial aspect of his work.
Artist Arina Gordienko’s chose her piece What’s Left Behind as her icon. The image depicts a female in a bright red head wrap, with the figure looking away from the viewer toward a blank background. “I believe that all artists reflect in their works one continuous message. My message from the very beginning was and still is about bringing as much beauty to this world as possible,” says Gordienko.
Gayle Madeira, Apollo of New York, oil on canvas, 36 x 24"
The color red is very important to her work has well, and is rooted in her Russian heritage, in which the word “red” in Russian literally means beautiful. She says, “I accumulated my perception of red as ‘beautiful’ into a symbol of hope for saving the world.
I believe that the main purpose of art is making this world a better place to live in…”
The show begins July 1 and runs through August 28. —
Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art
309 McClellan Street • Wausau, WI 54403
(715) 298-4470 • www.wmoca.org
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