Jessica Warner, Barbara Murak, and Kate Gaudy, September 26 – November 8, 2014

Exhibition Catalog, Jessica Warner, Barbara Murak, Katharine Gaudy

Jessica Warner, By the Waters…, September 26 – November 8, 2014

Jessica Warner’s painting and drawings begin as “lines that build up or grow into forms.” Repetition creates an energy that moves in and through her compositions. Vibrant colors amplify the implied kinetic energy. This organic process results in lines and shapes that seem propelled by natural forces. Through this method, she “weaves strands of color” into dynamic imagery that suggests both landscape and still life.

Jessica Baron Warner received her BFA magna cum laude from SUNY Purchase with a concentration in painting and drawing. Her work has been exhibited throughout Upstate New York. In June 2011, she had a solo show at the CAP Artspace in Ithaca, NY which was partially funded through a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) SOS grant. Her painting earned the top prize at the State of the Art Gallery’s Regional Juried Show in December 2011. That year she was also selected to participate in the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) MARK ’11 competitive professional development program. She is currently living and painting in Ithaca, NY with her husband and two children

Barbara Murak, Healing Revelations, September 26 – November 8, 2014

Barbara Murak’s sculptural forms grow from the rhythmic and meditative gestures of knitting. Some sculptures are the product of traditional knitting needles, whereas others are made by manipulating the fibers with just her fingers. In each case, the scale of these objects reflects the intimacy of her hand movements. The contrasting tones and textures accentuate the organic quality of each object. For Murak, “the themes of memory and fragility, found both in nature and relationships,” recur in this work. Unlike the knitted sculptures, Murak’s wall hangings are the result of mechanical and chemical processes that require larger, albeit equally repetitive, gestures. Here the fibers are forced together, reflecting the tension between the artist and the machine.

Barbara Murak holds a BA in art/design from SUNY Empire State College and an MS in creative art therapy from Nazareth College. She is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, where she creates artwork at bedside with patients or in waiting areas with family and caregivers to help relieve their stress and anxiety. Many of her projects involve textile arts and several patient-made quilts currently hanging in the hospital. In addition to numerous national and international exhibitions, Murak’s artwork is represented in public and private collections in the United States as well as Canada, China, South Korea, The Philippines, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and India.

Kate Gaudy, IconoClusterFoxtrot, September 26 – November 8, 2014

Katharine Gaudy constructs sculptures from found objects that are transformed in order to “hold fixed the undulating, momentary surface.” She consciously chooses moments marked by rhythm and contrast. By treating the objects with cement, Gaudy is able to make permanent the echo of a singular human alteration. The physical transformation builds tension between purpose and meaning. This current series of work functions “as a pictorial and material system that builds towards and away from complexity.”

Katharine Gaudy is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo where she studied art history. She is a former Albright Knox art handler, Sol Lewitt Studio scribbler, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center intern, and a former Buffalo Arts Studio Studio Artist.