Burial Party

One of the artists that I am so excited to be working with for Play is the incredibly unique and interesting Vadis Turner. I have known and enjoyed Vadis' work for quite awhile now and her exhibit a few years back brought my attention to her gallery where she has a solo show opening in Chelsea this week so check it out:

Vadis Turner
Burial Party
April 7th - May 7th, 2011
Artist Reception: Thursday, April 7th, 6-8pm

From her Press Release:

...Ms. Turner's work is an intersection where color theory, abstraction, assemblage and feminism meet head on. The artist's innate color sensibilities and energy pay homage to the New York School of Abstract Expressionist and Action painters like Joan Mitchell and Willem De Kooning, by employing broad strokes of color. Through Ms. Turner's exquisite and unique use of materials such as ribbon, clothing, antique quilts, lace and yarn, the artist continues to explore and exploit traditional "feminine" materials and creates a contemporary dialogue as found in the works of artists such as Petah Coyne and Shinique Smith.

Turner states, "During the creation of my marital Dowry and Reception (Permanent Collection, Brooklyn Museum of Art), I became interested in the aesthetic bridges between diverse rites of passage. Elaborate ceremonies honor, idealize and purify the subject as they transition from one life chapter to the next. The subject simultaneously embodies a climax and demise. A new identity is conceived. An old identity dies. In this body of work, elements of ceremonial adornment are partnered with various processes of decay. Satin ribbons and flowers are fixed in a stilled state of destruction and removal ed by fire or mold. Through consumption and repurposing, each process re-imagines the beauty and energy of change and loss."

Vadis is represented by the very cool gallery Lyons Weir, also Cayce Zavaglia's gallery. It is a gallery with an impeccable selection of artists and a lovely new space. I would love to be amongst such a group someday.