Chris McGinnis at 709

Chris McGinnis The Productive Machine #13

A really stand-out exhibit at the last downtown Gallery Crawl in July was at 709, where Chris McGinnis is showing The Productive Machine.

The presented works are a combination of drawings and paintings, with the subject of manual labor and urban environment. The works themselves seem to herald a romanticized vision of skilled labor, reminiscent of the Social Realism movement. There are some subtle observations about the nearly-defunct manufacturing dichotomy. The works record the current state of Rust Belt environs, showing the abandonment of manufacturing. Social Realism aimed to expose the plight of the underclass; these works continue to record those disparities.

Chris McGinnis
Staccato Rhythm II (After Gilbreath)

Interesting in this show is the exhibit of studies alongside their painted counterparts. And in an exhibit of interesting works I thought The Productive Machine #13 (above) particularly interesting. The study that paired with the piece, Staccato Rhythm II (After Gilbreath) (pictured left), is inset into the corner. The discord was intense, since the inset was an entirely different handling of pigment. The color keeps the superimposed images justified, but the deliberate obliteration of detail in the figure as well as the glowing diagram lines push an aslant dimension into the plane.

I like this pairing too -

Chris McGinnis The Productive Machine #12

Chris McGinnis The Productive Machine #12 (Study)

 The drawing is held very true to form in both of these pairings,as well as with the pairings in the rest of the exhibit. Color gives the work an added dimension, while remaining true to composition and values. Because I am an artist myself, I would love to see the previous steps that led up to the drawing as well as any intervening studies between these very fine drawings and their pigmented counterparts.

Nothing like procrastination; I have been meaning to write about this exhibit for a couple weeks. Unfortunately for you, Dear Reader, there is only this weekend to see it. The Productive Machine closes on Sunday, September 1. Yes, 709 Gallery does have Sunday hours. So, what are you doing this weekend?

Chris McGinnis
The Productive Machine
709 Penn Gallery
July 12-September 1, 2013

TRAF - Juried Visual Art Exhibit

The three Rivers Arts Festival certainly warrants more time this year than I have been able to give it. I spent Friday afternoon at the Artists Market, and Tuesday I stopped in at the Cultural Trust's Education Center to see the Juried Visual Art Exhibit.

This is, by far, the best edition of this series that I've seen. Comprised of only fifty works in a generous space gives each piece breathing room, allowing contemplation without distraction. The installation really did justice to the work. There are more than several good works in the exhibit. For personal reasons, a handful really stood out for me.

Matty Davis

I would be very interested in seeing the above work by Matty Davis in strong and changing light. Not a rapidly changing light, but the natural light over the course of the day and the season. The potential for depth and the interplay of shadow is intriguing; I could see myself living with this piece, shifting it throughout my home and contemplating the changes of light that are possible from a deceptively static work. The layers of fingerprints are complex, with the vagaries of coverage from opaque to slightly faded, couple with expanses of completely clear glass. In the diffuse light of the gallery, the main interest of the work was in its subtle shifts of depth.

Seth Clark

Seth Clark creates his collages from found papers, as well as other media. The works are rich in surface texture and intricate in their observation of decay. The contrast between the floating constructions of dilapidated structures and the very clean expanse of the ground creates a dreamlike floating quality. The effect is disorienting, with uncertainty underpinning the perspective because there is no sure horizon or point of physical orientation.

Stephanie Armbruster

From the artist's site:

Stephanie Armbruster works primarily as an encaustic painter, creating luminous, translucent surfaces by suspending pigment, drawings and ephemera between layers of molten wax.

Ms. Armbruster's work is simply beautiful. The layers hold light just below the surface and color blooms across the substrate in gentle shadings, contrasting with stronger concentrations of pigment that provide a map across the surface. Definitely a work that would grow and transcend through multiple viewings.

Thomas Bigatel

There is a lot of controlled energy in Thomas Bigatel's work. Three of Mr. Bigatel's works are included in the exhibit on canvases that run from medium to large. The expansive gestures of the artist absolutely require the space. I got the feeling that the gestures extended way beyond the confines of the substrate, and that what I was viewing was a fraction of the full spectrum of the piece. The work is a balance blend of impulse and consideration.

The exhibit will be gone in a flash, in place only for the duration of the festival. Fortunately, the venue is open until 8PM for the festival. Please note that the above images are courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

EDIT: Replaced a couple images. 

Juried Visual Art Exhibit
Through June 16, 2013
Trust Arts Education Center
805 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222