October 16, 2009 through November 12, 2009
Vacuum Paradoxicon extends and distills an ongoing dialogue between Kansas City based artists Stewart Losee and Amanda Gehin and their work. The two-and three-dimensional artworks featured may be described as fantasy architectures, reflecting the artists’ shared interests in exploring ideas of imaginative, internal/mental spaces. “We feel that collapsing hyperspace into a paradoxically constrained dimensional plane results in a common aesthetic along a metaphysical path for a pleasure pilgrimage!” the artists write. Gehin’s work is specifically focused on articulating impossible, or paradoxical, shapes – those whose combination of properties cannot be realized by any 3-dimensional object in ordinary Euclidean space, but rather are constructible only in a theoretical, mental landscape (such as the Penrose triangle, the impossible quadrilateral, and the impossible cuboid.) Included are labyrinthine wall pieces, composed of many small paintings that relate to one another like pieces of a puzzle and are characterized by intensive patterning and rich colors. These draw stylistic inspiration from Asian and Meso-American cultures, as well as from the Magical Realist writings of Jorge Luis Borges and Haruki Murakami. In addition, Gehin will present a series of sculptures on pedestals that incorporate living plant life as well as constructed objects. Stewart Losee draws from forms of ancient art to explore the origins of images; the idea of image as a function of an evolved psychology rather than culture. “I am interested in ancient art because it reveals visual motifs that are common to peoples operating in geographical or cultural isolation,” writes Losee. His work pursues these fundamental forms and manifests them as architectures, attempting in this process to tap into the essential impetus for creation that existed before the designation of “art” emerged. Losee revels in the contrast between man’s monumental structures and the wilderness. Included will be a series of several large, baroque light boxes displaying digital renderings –“deep abstractions”- produced as polystyrene color prints, as well as a “wooden solar boombox temple.” The modest gap that exists between Losee and Gehin’s work will be bridged with various scale architectural maquettes, created collaboratively, which quietly consider new age metaphysics as applied to urban planning. About the artists Amanda Gehin received her BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in 2006 and also studied at the International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Telephonebooth gallery, Hoop Dog gallery, Urban Culture Project Space, and Midwest Hotel. Gehin was awarded an Urban Culture Project Studio Residency, 2007-08. Stewart Losee received his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in 2006. His work has been featured in the Scope Art Fair in both London and Los Angeles, and featured in group exhibitions at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Fahrenheit Gallery, Urban Culture Project’s Paragraph Gallery, and Syringe Gallery. Losee was awarded an Urban Culture Project Studio Residency, 2007-08.
