FORM / NO FORM
Using shape and line the artists create a sense of movement and structure to explore form through abstract painting. Whether form emerges through loosely defined, soft edges or is more clearly delineated with a strong sense of shape, it is the viewer’s perception that ultimately creates the form.
Lisa Calzavara is exhibiting contemporary oil paintings that explore the idea of creating a portrait, not in the usual sense of a person but as a residual experience. The work encompasses telling a story of energy, conflict, depth, and resolution by using color, shape, and composition. Each painting is energized with movement, large swirls or repetitive patterns. The shapes may have a strong sense of form or they may fade away based on what needs to be integrated to convey the essential meaning. The key for her is to organize the elements to bring order without diminishing the momentum which brings resolution to each piece and becomes an experience itself.
er process begins after conceptualizing the experience to explore: small black and white sketches are created to determine overall compositions. Several acrylic color studies are then developed and analyzed, selecting only the pieces that best represent the chosen concept. Larger oil paintings can then be designed by organizing the information in the smaller studies and utilizing the most successful components.
Lisa Calzavara continues to use her finance degree from Northern Illinois University and at the same time finds time for her creative passions. She specializes in a variety of mediums, including encaustic, acrylic, resin, oil, and looks forward to new challenges as she pursues her innovative visions. Her work can be viewed at: http://www.aprettypainting.com
Laura Brenton’s abstract paintings explore boundaries and the dynamic between structure and chaos. She plays with process and form, improvising with line and color. She focuses on a sense of movement, investigating ways of creating shapes, and ways of disrupting them. Sometimes it’s drawing outside the lines, other times it’s overlapping layers. The painting is an interplay between order and uncertainty, using both to find freedom and resolution.
Unexpected surprises, through the exploration of form and color, inspire Laura’s work. She primarily uses acrylic paints and a variety of mark making tools as she dances the paint around with brushes and palette knives, painting with her fingers and making marks - always following the movement.
Laura has a background in dance and bodywork. She began her painting career with landscapes and expanded to abstract painting. Her work has been featured throughout Colorado and Internationally, including being a member of a delegation of women painters who visited and exhibited work in Kunming China. Her paintings are in private and institutional collections. Her work can be viewed at: https://www.laurabrentonart.com
Gallery Hours: Thursday Noon to 5pm, Friday Noon to 9 pm, Saturday Noon to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 4 pm.