Between the Lines - Altered Book Sculptures by Dawn Rosendahl

 Between the Lines: Exhibition of Altered Book Sculptures

I've had the pleasure of watching artist Dawn Rosendahl carve through pages as she creates her altered book sculptures in her Artist in Residence  studio at the Maitland Art Center, Maitland Florida. I was amazed to see the very beginning of this totem of sculpted books being built in her studio come to fruition in this exquisite tall assemblage of carved books. 
 

 

"Libra Totem" Inspired by Native American totem polls.
There are over 75 books in this piece.


The artist’s process is like an excavation, each book with its own archaeological dig. Using X-Acto knives and box cutters her process appears a bit surgical, and quite meticulous. Like a storyteller Rosendahl retells tales in a fresh new way, selectively piercing pages until the form emerges as a sculptural vision. She is able to use the text words and images to convey her message.

 "Hollywood Burning"

Rosendahl Artist Statement
I transform books into lasting sculptures, resurrecting them as they become obsolete in this age of New Media. I carve books like blocks of wood, transforming them into surrealistic works of art. The altered books tell new stories; continents, countries, and highways in an atlas shift into another world; history books are rewritten with the stories they tell; and words in an encyclopedia are shifted and layered into new meaning.

 "American Vision"

In addition to her tenacity of pushing through volumes
her work is intellectual and thought provoking.
One could find her work a valuable engaging work addition to their art collection.

 "Jackie"

I particularly enjoy the exhibition in the CityArts Factory venue as her altered books
stand out on the blue walls accentuating their sculptural forms. A must see!
Catch it by February 14th,
CityArts Factory is located at 29 S. Orange Ave Orlando Florida USA.

"Dawn Rosendahl transforms books into lasting sculptures,
resurrecting them as they become obsolete in this age of New Media"

 

Review
 Robin Maria Pedrero is a curator, public speaker, and passionate painter. Pedrero served on the board for the National Women's Caucus for Art. She is an elected signature member of the Pastel Society of America. She is awarded Best Artist in Florida 2012 by Baterby's Art Auction Gallery, listed in Florida International Magazine’s Florida Artists Hall of Fame, and the winning Artiste Wine Label artist 2012. Pedrero is an award winning artist with work in film, museum permanent collections, private collections & galleries in America, Great Britain, Bahrain, Italy, Spain, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, and Australia.

Vessels, Myths & Muses at Jai Gallery - by M.W.Kimmel

March's third thursday art stroll event in downtown Orlando was especially entertaining this month.  My particular favorite stop was Jai Gallery located in the Exchange Building on Garland Avenue.  Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon, director of Jai, put together Vessels, an impressive solo exhibit of work by Barbara Sorensen.  Monumental sculptures, pedestal pieces and wall works of clay were assembled to showcase her talents.  She describes her work this way, "I build in layers, stacking and joining the clay as I move upward to create layers of antiquity, layers of time, and layers of myself. Petrified ghosts and seas of ancient years are recorded as the process drapes the landscape. I let the sculpture lead me where it should go."

The art and curiosity was too much for Pandora.
Photo (c) Jeffrey Hoffman.

Those layers of antiquity and seas of ancient years also lead Coralie and Josh Garrick to be inspired by the collection.  They saw in them a chance to incorporate Sorensen's clay and metal sculptures into a retelling of one of histories most well known adventures in Homer's The Iliad and the Odyssey.  Like wily Odysseus, Garrick deftly navigated through the islands of geologic textured totems in the sea of the gallery floor and braved the trials of narrating the Homeric legends amidst the not so dangerous onlookers and art lovers all the while accompanied by the muses, sirens and goddesses from DiDonna Productions and Empty Spaces Theatre Co.

Experience a voyage through the showcase of sculpture on an odyssey of various Greek myths yourself this coming Saturday, April 6th at Jai Gallery, 101 S. Garland Ave, Suite 101, Orlando, Florida.  Josh will be narrating a family friendly performance of Myths and Muses at 1:00 pm.  Barbara Sorensen's pieces will be on display throughout the month.

Bodies in Motion: The Figure As Vehicle exhibition at Mount Dora Center for the Arts

By M.W.Kimmel

Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion, "A body in motion tends to stay in motion", has been creatively expressed by artists John Carollo & Marsha De Broske, in the exhibit The Figure as Vehicle.  It is described on the web site as "a gallery show of figurative art in both two and three dimensions ... infused with a sense of motion which appears to be captured for a split second".  That is quite an accurate description.  In addition, each piece has the ability to transport you to various moments in time or history or mythology.

The Rapture and Duality by John Carollo

For an artist to capture motion on film takes skill, but to capture it by way of sculpture, painting and mixed media assemblies takes an entirely different type of skill, imagination & ingenuity.  Like a waterfall in frigid winter air John Carollo has frozen moments of fluidity in his watercolor paintings.  And, like the American flag astronauts planted on the moon that appears to be waving in the breeze yet resides in the vacuum of space, his mixed media assemblies display dynamic qualities.  What is most impressive is how he translated the chaotic flow of his water color to his mixed media pieces.  

One of his newest works is Icarus Ascends.  This wind whirled weave of materials soars sun-ward as the light ignites the polychromasia of the hand painted silk and radiates off the polished aluminum to grab your attention as you await his fate.

A complimentary contradiction to John's prismatic works are the monochromatic sculptures of Marsha De Broske.  At first glance you will notice the solid bronze castings on marble foundations that dominate her portfolio.  Moments of self awareness and introspection are figuratively captured with all the qualities of human life.  However, upon closer inspection you begin to wonder if many of the figures are bronze at all.  This is the magic, the little something extra, that Marsha has developed.  Like John, Marsha is innovating new techniques into her skill set.  She combines wire and soft strips of cotton to mold her human forms and finishes them in such a way that they resemble the bronze patina.  It's a remarkable way of perceiving the softness of the cloth and the hardness of bronze in one form.

Marsha really nailed the "Figure as Vehicle" theme with her piece "War".  It truly moved me.  This composition morphs it's subject through a story of terror and destruction in much the same way that a stop motion film is created, by carefully contorting and modifying the figure and capturing each pose for a fraction of a second.  It screams heartache, fear, torture and pain while it disintegrates into eternal silence.

For this particular show, Marsha and John saw an opportunity to utilize the large picture window of the gallery.  They collaborated on a design that showcases both of their talents and visions.  You won't see it here though.  You will have to visit the Mount Dora Center for the Arts, in Mount Dora, where this traveling show has made a stop.  Mount Dora is a sleepy little burg rising from the hillside shores of Lake Dora.  Concentrated within three square blocks of the downtown area are a variety of galleries, shops and dining establishments which make for a wonderful leisurely day trip.  You can see "The Figure as Vehicle" now until March 2nd.