March at Gallery A3. PAIRINGS by Martha Braun and Rochelle Shicoff
"Deep into Time," by Rochelle Shicoff, photomontage, mixed media. Photo: Gallery A3
Source: Gallery A3
Gallery A3, 28 Amity Street announces its new mixed media exhibit by Martha Braun and Rochelle Schicoff. Their show, PAIRINGS, opens on Thursday March 7 and will run through Saturday March 30. There will be an opening reception on Thursday March 7, from 5-7 p.m. and an Online Art Forum (register here) on Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Thursday-Sunday, 2-7 p.m. More. Information.
In PAIRINGS, Martha Braun applies her experience as a painter to the discipline of printmaking. Rochelle Shicoff presents a series using encaustic, paint, pastel, and photomontage.
Martha Braun
Martha Braun is a painter who is finding new expression in printmaking, specifically using the Japanese technique called “sosaku hanga.”
Braun’s current work examines the process of the transition from paint to print, and, in a sense, is experimental—an exploratory version of what is yet to come. The pairings—paintings and prints in different media and from different points of Braun’s creative history—provide a context in which to examine the past, present, and future simultaneously.
The Japanese word “sosaku hanga” (or “moku hanga”) denotes both a particular style as well as a technique of working that utilizes artist-carved woodblocks as a matrix for image transfer. These blocks are printed using a hand-held rubbing tool, called a baren, and water-based inks. The absorbent nature of Asian paper and the fluidity of the inks allow the paper and the image to become an amalgam—two materials inseparably combined—creating a characteristic matte finish with a gentle glow.
The work is non-representational, depicting forces rather than things, and focuses on the nature of existence as the artist perceives it. The forms are evocative, associative, mystical, philosophical—all facets of a nonmateriality that suggests rather than defines. This level of subjectivity allows the viewer greater freedom to explore their own perceptions of any piece. The possibility of such an engagement requires time, intent, and willingness for introspection on the parts of both viewer and artist.
Rochelle Schicoff
Rochelle Shicoff’s body of work involves the visual expression of aspects of the human condition. In this photomontage series titled “Everything Is So Still,” the viewer is invited into an intimate world associated with actual or imaginary travels.
Animal figures serve to show human instincts and act as active forces. Some symbolize strength and endurance, such as goat and snake, or vulnerability as insects.
Shicoff incorporates photographs from her travels and observations in New York City, Bali, Thailand, and Germany.
The series also explores the passage of time. Time is remembered as a memory or as a fleeting moment. The work infers that people have been in these places and have just left or were present a long time ago.
The use of oil paint and pastel layered on top of encaustic adds texture and dimension to the images. The layering and incising of these materials is in direct conversation with the colors. The scratching and piercing through multiple applications of materials, which encaustic allows, creates an added degree of mystery and tension to the work.
Shicoff finds the labor-intensive process of applying encaustic with a small brush to be extremely meditative. The encaustic/wax on each layer creates hills and valleys, resulting in a new surface which she finds very beautiful.
Art Forum Online
In an Art Forum Online on Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 pm, Braun and Shicoff will speak about their process and the work in PAIRINGS. See the gallery website www.gallerya3.com to register for this online event, which is free and open to the public. This Art in Community outreach program is supported in part by grants from the Amherst Cultural Council and the Springfield Cultural Council, local agencies, which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
About Gallery A3
Gallery A3 is a contemporary, fine art gallery in downtown Amherst, Massachusetts. Members of our artist-run gallery include painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and mixed media artists. You can find us in the Amherst Cinema complex along with Amherst Coffee, GoBerry Yogurt and Osteria Vespa restaurant.
Gallery A3 was founded in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. A group of local artists believed art to be essential to the health and healing of a community and began the gallery as a place to share ideas and artistic support. Since that time, the gallery has been home to over sixty artists and is now celebrating twenty years of monthly shows with openings and forums. All events are free and open to the public.
Gallery A3 strives to enliven and enrich our community by offering exhibits with public openings and open forums. It established and actively participates in the monthly art walks, Amherst Arts Night Plus, and supports regional artists with an annual juried show. It serves its
own membership with conversations and programs that bring established professional and newly-emerged artists together, promoting artistic development and encouraging the creation and exhibition of exciting, new contemporary art work.