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J. Tillman at the Mohawk - Giveaway
If you're already fed up with the sweltering heat and don’t want to think about the fact that it's truly just beginning, distract yourself with a visit to the cool interiors of Shoal Creek Gallery and their new exhibition, Constructed Canvases, featuring works by Joyce Melander-Dayton.
Fresh from a showing in New York, many of Melander-Dayton’s animated canvases recall the whimsy of Wassily Kandinsky’s musical compositions of the early twentieth century, complete with cascading geometric shapes and orbs of color. Her playful arrangements aren't just paint on canvas, but also incorporate fiber, textiles, and beads—placed on, sewn on, or, in some cases, woven through the canvas.
This metamorphosis from acrylics to mixed-media took place in the late 90s. Having long studied the backs of her paintings, Melander-Dayton was intrigued by the weave of unprimed canvases, which to her were "like beautiful textiles.” Intrigued by the possibilities of including textured elements in the front of her paintings, she began building the "environments" of her works with the introduction of various materials.
Constructed Canvases includes a selection of these earlier paintings, in which an image of a wonderfully detailed Asian noodle bowl, rendered with precise photographic realism, floats atop long columns of coarse jute—a natural fiber akin to hemp or flax—that have been woven or knotted through the surface. No longer simply two-dimensional representations, these “constructed” canvases invite a more sensory experience for the viewer—the desire to touch them is enticing.
Currently residing in Santa Fe, Melander-Dayton continues to probe into the process of how her works are constructed. Her latest creations, influenced by the environs and natural palette of New Mexico, are large vertical bare canvases dappled with color, movement, and texture. The unpainted backgrounds not only convey a sense of spaciousness, but also capture the “way color tends to pop” in the arid desert atmosphere.
Constructed Canvases
Works by Joyce Melander-Dayton
Through July 14
Shoal Creek Gallery (2905 San Gabriel)
454-6671
Tip: After taking in the art, head upstairs to FINO – their sangria is another excellent way to not think about how dreadfully hot it is.
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