Welcome Back Show @Mason Gross Galleries

The Welcome Back show at Mason Gross Galleries just recently concluded and had showcased an array of works from the visual arts faculty. A lack of overall theme or subject led to an interesting variety of works being displayed which by happenstance, created a theme within itself. The individuality of the works displayed further aided in the existence of an intriguing juxtaposition between medium and subject. While various works were organized in regards to medium, there still existed a certain clash between them.

Stephen Westfall’s Casmadin seems to speak more to a conversation with art history. The lines and geometric minimalism of the work speaks of the post war Bauhaus school of design. A certain concern with a strict concentration on painting within itself also seems to be prevalent. This also appears to be in contrast with another work placed further down the same wall within the gallery space. Chris Guerra’s print Jealousy serves as commentary on art through its vague abstraction but also serves a commentary on facets of the human experience. The manner in which certain color fields within the print interact with one another refers to some sort of strife and struggle; the intangible aspect of humanity exists within the work in a certain extent. Given the work is non literal in its visual narrative, the interpretation may be inaccurate. However, the difference between the more definitive work of Westfall’s versus the more vague and varied work of Guerra’s leads to a conversation between the works as a whole. Another work within the direct vicinity of the two aforementioned works was Eileen Behnke’s …on the grass which served a unique purpose within its placement in the gallery space. On its own the painting can be interpreted within the context of itself, but due to its existence amongst other varied works, it takes on new meaning. The scene of five women sprawled on the grass in a natural, literal depiction is grossly different from other paintings surrounding it. Behnke’s work on its own brings up thoughts of the use of pictorial space, perspective, and composition within painting, although next to other works its comments on notions of the literal versus the abstract.

Caetlynn Booth’s Checkpoint seems to strife the line between the literal and abstract and benefits from its placement near Guerra’s Jealousy. The painting contains both the natural, literal depiction of a night like atmosphere while displaying the more abstract aspects which may be linked to the sensory experience. A conversation between works continues to exist throughout the show, but remains most verbose and present within 2d work. 2d contemporary work is greatly varied and shows the widest diversity in regards to subject, treatment, and approach. While this contrast can be distracting within the gallery space, the Welcome Back Show was organized in such a manner in which an engaging relationship between the works flourished. The potential problem of clash with 2d works does not seem to be as prevalent across other mediums with the exception with installation art which truly requires I space to breath in most cases.

Video art in particular seems to have this overarching sense of the attempt to create narrative in an indirect or unobvious manner. Toby MacLennan’s Bite Into a New Day cut from elephants roaming to obese nude women rolling upon one another; interesting and altogether more so contemplative. The works as a whole did seem to communicate in an unobtrusive manner and were organized in what appeared to be a successful manner. The two individual exhibitions within the show also found their own way to exist individually as well as cohesively in the show.