I was completely blown-away by one of the the current exhibits on display at the Fenimore Museum of Art. The works of Nancy Callahan and Richard Whitten are simply amazing!
Nancy Callahan, who resides in the greater Syracuse (NY) area creates impressively complex, and stunning assemblages and dioramas which harken back to Victorian-age curiosity cabinets. Accompanying -- or perhaps introducing -- the beautifully composed visual elements which comprise these intricate artworks, are Ms. Callahan's intriguing artist's statement, which include historically accurate (as far as I can tell) and wildly interesting information which seems to drive her creative explorations. For example, this statement...
accompanies this large cabinet assemblage...
This statement accompanies the largest "assemblage/sculpture" in the show...
Here is a selection of other works by Ms. Callahan...
Now, on to Richard Witten's work. This artist is THE MASTER of the illusion of depth in his oil painting! It is difficult to comprehend that all of these artworks are created on a flat surface (even when you're standing in front of them at the exhibit). Two aspects of Mr. Whitten's work enhance the illusion of three-dimensionality. The unique and distinctively-shaped panels on which Mr. Whitten paints his work defies the standard reference to a rectangular frame with which viewers are accustomed. These unique shapes then afford the viewer (consciously or not) the ability to abandon the standard "rules" of perceiving the works in the two-dimensional space on which the exist. The other aspect of the work which maximizes the illusion of three-dimensionality of the work is the exquisite use of color constancy and contrast, as well as the dark color palette. Taken together, these aspects of Whitten's work create a powerfully illusionistic and pleasantly aesthetic ouevre.
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