Keira Kotler: Spectrum
Harold Reddicliffe: New Paintings
April 5 – 27 at Gallery NAGA
Gallery NAGA will welcome spring with boundless color, when, from April 5 through April 27, two prominent artists show their work.
Keira Kotler: Spectrum and Harold Reddicliffe: New Paintings are on exhibition from April 5 through 27. A reception for the artists and the public will be held at the gallery on Friday, April 5 from 6 to 8 pm.
Keira Kotler was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 and in response, she started a company called Everviolet, a lingerie and loungewear collection nurturing the changes in a woman’s body following treatment from breast cancer. Kotler relies on her deep knowledge of color and psychology and has applied it to the aesthetic of Everviolet.
During the launch of this new company and passion, Kotler began a new photowork series, which she refers to as Between the Sea & Sky. The photographs are abstract studies with complex color; the show title, Spectrum, describes the progression between two extreme points of color. Arranged in a tight order from one end of the scale to the other, the work is jewel-like in its intense depth of color, each an abstract close-up of the natural world—elusive moments that are impossible to pin down.
Kotler describes the origins of her approach, “The work stems from a long-standing interest in the phenomena of light and color, as approached through Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Color has the power to evoke internal sensations through perception, vibration, and cultural associations. Quieting the mind encourages these experiences to come forth. Much like standing before a vast ocean or flowing river, where water offers a sense of perspective, expansiveness and serenity; so too these photographs serve as a space for reflection. They do not assert a point of view; rather they invite viewers to explore their own internal, perceptive experience.”
The gallery will also feature an installation of a collection of Everviolet pieces.
Harold Reddicliffe is nudging the boundaries of the canvas in his second solo painting exhibition at NAGA. Whereas the earlier work presented ordinary household objects squarely centered in the composition and framed by space, the new paintings look as if they have been truncated and we’re seeing only some of what’s really going on. In 53 Boxes, brightly colored paper boxes stand on edge, one in front of the other, like a densely populated cityscape. A similar approach is realized in 32 Objects, but Reddicliffe has chosen a strict balance of tone, utilizing only black and white. They are all expansive studies in color, light, form and geometry but none of the paintings exceed twelve by nine inches.
In a statement for the exhibition, Reddicliffe describes his process, “On the most basic level, this process is a series of technical solutions to formal problems. I begin by finding a subject. This involves selecting an object or group of objects that will transform a general idea about form into a specific image. I then use a very detailed line drawing to describe the still life, translating its three-dimensional volume into two-dimensional shapes. The underpainting is next. I redefine the shapes I’ve drawn as color, with particular attention to the tonal transitions within each one. I complete the process with an overpainting, in which my color choices are carefully analyzed and when necessary corrected.
“The success of the painting, however, depends on another process that evolves concurrently: the emergence of a series of associations that have nothing to do with the functional reality of the objects in the still-life. This alternate reality as metaphor is always a surprise and is frequently revealed only long after the painting is complete.”
Shown for the first time, and in the back room of the gallery, will be Reddicliffe’s graphite drawings. Although restrained and void of color, the drawings are intensely detailed and thorough—it’s like getting a look backstage before hair and makeup is done.
Born in Houston in 1947, Harold Reddicliffe received his B.A. from Williams College, and his M.F.A. in 1973 from the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Reddicliffe’s teaching includes positions at the Columbus College of Art and Design, Ohio from 1977-1984, and Boston University’s College of Fine Arts from 1987-2015. He has been the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from the Artist’s Resource Trust.