Events

Fall 2011

Regeneration

Drawings and paintings by Nancy Kern

September 26-October 27, 2011

Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, Texas

The Brazosport College Art Gallery displays some of the finest works from around the United States. Showcasing various mediums and styles from contemporary and modern to traditional work, it serves as Brazoria County’s premier art attraction.

Thank you for a great run! I appreciate the enthusiastic turnout for my show, and I love receiving your feedback and comments.

If you missed the show, here is a link to see the work:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150334042794693.360294.524969692&l=fb5575e848&type=1

Read my Artist Statement here

Regeneration

In this work I am trying to reveal the process of regeneration I witnessed on the island of Hawaii. I hiked hours on an enchanting trail that wound through rainforest dappled with golden light and fertile greens. Unsuspecting, I rounded a bend and came to the entrance to Devastation Trail.

I left velvet shade and voracious plant life, and hiked on, into a desolate wasteland of hardened lava, the aftermath of a volcanic eruption that raged a few years earlier. The trail led to lifeless black ground that looked like the end of the world. The sun glared overhead. No insects. No birds. I paused at rock altars made by hikers; spontaneous altars dedicated to Pele, the fiery volcano goddess who is both destructive and creative. It seemed as if the Garden of Eden had been ravaged.

Bending down, I touched the earth and looked more closely. Signs of life, tiny green ferns unfurled, peeking from cracks made as the lava cooled. The rainforest was reclaiming the lava field; the earth was regenerating.

In contemporary times, themes of destruction loom large. We need reminders that life regenerates between the cracks. What I noticed on that trek planted the seeds for this show.

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After several years of painting with highly saturated color, the time came to set color and paint aside. Gazing at color as I mixed and applied fine, thin, transparent layers transported me into a dreamy state of suspension. As I painted, I identified with the sensual fluidity of paint.

My art is process oriented. The materials and the way I work shape the content and subject matter. For Regeneration, I felt compelled to work in charcoal. Wood is burned, transformed by fire to make charcoal. Marked by fire, charcoal has an affinity for ashes. Ashes are new ground for regeneration. The drawings required muscular force, grinding and smearing black charcoal into heavy white paper to make large, bold gestures, express contrast, impulse and destruction.

Charcoal is also an apt medium to express the journey from devastation to regeneration. It is easy to make a vivid mark or subtle suggestion, adjust a mark or change a line. Erasing doesn’t remove the black ground, but alters it by digging into it, making a new ground for the next layer of building.

Abstract imagery is the most direct way to convey the essence of things. Stripped of literal representation, my images reference regeneration in nature and in the human heart. My hope is that those who see my work will feel a link between seeds in plants and seeds of awareness. The paintings in this show refer to the reemergence of life, the rainforest that reclaims the lava field.

Nancy Kern

September 2011