'Rupture' paintings by Louise Crandell opens October 8th.
Shelter Island, NY – ‘Rupture’ brings New York artist Louise Crandell back to boltax.gallery for her third solo show. The opening reception is Saturday, October 9th from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition runs through November 4th.
The dictionary defines ‘rupture’ as the act of breaking or bursting; the state of being broken, or a breach of harmonious or peaceful relations. These are the connecting threads of Crandell’s new show, which weaves together nearly two decades of work that explores our severed relationship to nature—both from our physical environment and to our human nature. The artist says the paintings in ‘Rupture’ reflect her “feelings about the earth being blown apart and depleted.”
Moving and mysterious, her large oil and wax canvases balance fragility and power, inviting the viewer to consider the cycle of life, the forces of creation, death and the unknown. The earliest painting, ‘Bird Brain Or The Crow Knows’ (1991) shown here for the first time, depicts a crow poised in flight. Painted shortly before her partner of 10 years died of AIDS, Crandell pairs it with the brooding ‘Dream House’ (1994) completed shortly after his death. “You paint in the moment, then 20 years later you realize the connection.”
Hindsight has offered Crandell a new way of looking at her work, revealing strong social and political narratives. While deeply personal, they also speak to themes that are simultaneously universal. ‘Road To Kandahar’ (2004), part of her Night Vision Series, was painted during the start of the Afghanistan war. ‘Katrina Head’ (2005) became a reflection of the disaster unfolding on television. Partnered with the show is what the artist calls “a musical antidote for our ruptured times”, a soundtrack of old time jazz and country tunes originally created by her father.
Crandell’s spare style allows each brushstroke to resonate with emotional intensity. Her mix of transparency and texture allows her to sculpt dark forms with lightness, creating realms filled with energy, hinting at the divine. One realizes there is just a single letter separating ‘rupture’ and ‘rapture’. She explains “We are severing ourselves from ourselves, away from our nature. Living with consciousness and light, that is the hope.”
