While there are many facets to what makes a body of work “stand out” to an audience, or creates a calling card to an artist’s signature style, the application of a medium can often contribute to a specific look and feel. “Application” is explored in an upcoming group show at Gallery MAR in Carmel, California, in which three artists apply their medium differently to achieve a distinct vision.
Wendy Chidester, Travel Trove, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 in.
“We have titled the show Application because texture (or lack thereof) is such an important part of these three artists’ process and finish,” says gallery owner Thomas Cushman. “Matthew Sievers loves for you to be aware of the paint; his liberal and aggressive use of squeegees, rollers and brushes leaves a texture...Wendy Chidester loves to ‘hide’ her brush work and textures. From a distance you think her paintings might even be photographs. Stephanie Revennaugh’s [glass-cast] sculptures are so textural you can see the marks from her knife where she carved away the wax.”
Wendy Chidester, Undressed, oil on canvas, 74 x 30 in.
For Chidester, style and technique are as much a part of the storytelling as the subject itself. “I work in contemporary realism, so detail and accuracy are important, but I also want the pieces to have a painterly quality—a surface history that echoes the life of the subject matter,” she says. “In this new body of work, I’ve leaned into that more than ever. I scratch into the paint, flick paint across the canvas and destroy an area before bringing it back to life.”
Each of Chidester’s works pays homage to things from days gone by, elevating them as cultural iconography. While the artist has been known to depict typewriters and old cameras, she’s now exploring subjects like luggage, trunks and dress forms. We see this come to life in show pieces like Undressed and Travel Trove.
Stephanie Revennaugh, Valence, cast glass and steel, 17 x 36 x 8 in.
Sievers is pushing edges and variety of application farther than he ever has in his current body of work. “I’m using so many transparent layers to create atmosphere and abstraction,” he shares. “I want the viewer to be inspired with their own creativity as they look at my paintings. I’m also using vague geometric shapes where you would expect an organic form, like a bush or the edge of a cloud. The overall theme could be described as the ‘abstraction of light.’”
In his show piece Standing Strong,for example, Sievers wanted an unseen sunset to be casting light under the branches of a family of cypress trees. “This location is just down from Gallery MAR, perhaps on Ocean Avenue,” Sievers shares. “In the lower beach areas or past the bluffs, you see the twist and lean of the cypress tree from the winds, and yet the tips of its branches spread out in all directions. These special trees, low and strong, stand against the world and show resilience and determination.”
Matthew Sievers, Standing Strong, oil, 48 x 48 in.
Revennaugh’s equine and bison pieces, Cadence and Valence, made of glass and steel components, are born out of contrast—“fragility and strength; light and weight; attraction and resistance,” says the artist. “Glass holds light in a way that feels almost spiritual, while steel offers undeniable gravity. Together, they create a dialogue about tension, balance and how energy between beings can be magnetic, harmonious or repellent. The overall theme of this body of work is relationship—between materials; between beings and between what is seen and unseen. Each piece asks the viewer to feel into that dynamic space where presence meets energy, where form becomes more than itself.”
To view the entire collection, head to Gallery MAR's Carmel location between November 8 and December 7. An artist reception will be held the opening day from 5 to 7 p.m. All artists will be in attendance.
Gallery MAR 5SW Ocean Avenue, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921 • (831) 624-2000 • www.gallerymarcarmel.com
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