PRESS RELEASE
October 19, 2010
Salt Lake Art Center
For more information contact: Emily Brunt, 801-328-4201 x115, emilyb@slartcenter.org
Honeymoon
A romance between abstraction and representation
Contemporary paintings by Kristin Calabrese and Joshua Aster
Salt Lake City, Utah –Salt Lake Art Center presents Honeymoon, a harmonious marriage of opposites featuring paintings by newlyweds Kristin Calabrese and Joshua Aster, two internationally recognized, Los Angeles-based contemporary artists. Honeymoon will run November 5, 2010 through January 15, 2011, at Salt Lake Art Center. Public programming includes an hour-long artist lecture by Calabrese and Aster on November 5 at 7:00 PM.
Micol Hebron, Senior Curator, explains, “Calabrese and Aster are both consummate painters – deeply invested in the language of contemporary painting. Though aesthetically unique, each artist approaches their paintings with such joy and passion, this show promises to be a stimulating and thought-provoking experience for new and returning visitors.”
Calabrese says “I think of my paintings as angry, funny, truth-telling, painful, and also like fake sculpture. Josh, in his paintings, is always trying to find a way to get from one side of the canvas to another.”
This exhibition celebrates a passionate fusion of two diverse artistic minds: Aster's works explore formal abstraction while Calabrese creates paintings that are illusionistic and inspired by her immediate surroundings. Though her subject matter differs from traditional landscapes and portraiture (for example, a grungy alleyway, the artist in a corner wielding a knife), Calabrese's paintings comprise a visual and psychological tour-de-force that explores concerns common to painters with regard to addressing illusion, depth, figure, metaphor, and emotion." Calabrese’s work addresses her own perspective and life as an artist who is immersed in the realm of painting during every moment of each day.
Joshua Aster’s abstract paintings provide a dynamic complement to Calabrese’s paintings. At once playful and academic, Aster deftly uses acrylic, ink, water, canvas and denim to explore, through manipulations of the fundamental elements of painting (including canvas, color, gesture and texture) what makes a painting a painting. Inspired by music, cinema, language, and more, Aster’s paintings function like jazz improvisations as they reveal curious and exuberant variations on themes taken from the structures of painting itself.
Calabrese says “I think of my paintings as angry, funny, truth-telling, painful, and also like fake sculpture. Josh, in his paintings, is always trying to find a way to get from one side of the canvas to another.”
Together, the works of Calabrese and Aster provide an exciting window into the very diverse range of practice in the world of contemporary painting and give the visitor an opportunity to explore not only differences in style, but also the shared concerns of these two great artists.
Salt Lake Art Center is proud to premiere poptart, a concurrent exhibition of new video works by Joshua Aster that will be on view in the foyer.
Joshua Aster: http://www.carlberggallery.com/artists.php?artist=jaster
Kristin Calabrese: http://www.kristincalabrese.com/
The Art Center also presents an opportunity for public participation in conjunction with Honeymoon. Anyone is invited to respond to the question “What does a harmonious marriage of opposites look like to you?” by submitting two digital images for possible inclusion in the Projects Gallery show Harmonious Opposites. Submit images of up to 2MB to opposites@slartcenter.org through December 31. For details, visit www.slartcenter.org
About Salt Lake Art Center
Founded in 1931 and located just steps from Temple Square, award-winning Salt Lake Art Center is one of Salt Lake City’s art gems, sporting three gallery spaces, an outdoor sculpture patio, screening room/lecture hall, resource library, and classroom spaces. Throughout its history, the Art Center has exhibited works by leading local and international artists, from LeConte Stewart to Diego Rivera, as well as groundbreaking interactive works, such as Contemporary Masters. Exhibiting the best contemporary visual art from around the world, the Art Center provides its visitors with an opportunity to explore the human experience in ways that are both exciting to the senses and deeply thought-provoking. The Art Center rounds out its offerings with a lively mix of community presentations, film screenings, educational classes, and events celebrating the vibrant local art scene. 337 Project is a program of Salt Lake Art Center.
Art Center Location, Hours, and Parking
Salt Lake Art Center is located at 20 South West Temple at the corner of 100 South on West Temple between Abravanel Hall and Salt Palace Convention Center. Telephone (801) 328-4201. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, Friday 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Closed Sunday, Mondays and Holidays. Free parking for members available in the Marriott Hotel parking garage across the street. Admission is always free.
Current Exhibition
In the Main Gallery, experience Go West, an exhibition featuring the works of twenty contemporary artists engaged in unearthing the myths of the Old West through January 9th, 2011.
Thank You to Our Sponsors for Making it Possible
Salt Lake Art Center is generously supported by Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks, Utah Arts Council, George S. & Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, Kanter Family Foundation, American Express, Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation, and Sam and Diane Stewart Foundation.
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Emily Brunt
Director of Communications
Salt Lake Art Center
20 South West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
801.328.4201 x115 m: 801.232.7362
emilyb@slartcenter.org www.slartcenter.org
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