Barbara Kolo
Aluminum cans melted into a liquid medium, thick lines of acrylic paint dripped on canvases ““ in the art world, you come to realize that just about any common item or thought can contort itself onto a canvas with the influence of creative minds.
The Artspace Warehouse located near West Hollywood is running a new exhibition called “Shifting the Everyday,” featuring the work of local artists David Jang and Barbara Kolo. Their work, though conceptually and visually unrelated, falls under the exhibit’s theme of changing perspectives on common aspects of everyday life. The exhibit runs from Nov. 10 until Jan. 10 with free admission.
Upon entering the gallery, the first visual display is the work of Korean artist David Jang. Jang incorporates the use of ordinary items such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, paper towels and cardboard into his artwork to express his perception of the human condition in relation to inanimate objects. His work becomes a telling collection of complex simplicity through the presence of plain geometric shapes along with his original techniques used to create color and texture.
“I use aluminum cans and scrap metals instead of paint … and instead of using paint brushes, I use power tools as an extension of my own human ability,” Jang said. “This is the year 2012, and we have so many replacements. Now instead of paint brushes, we can use other tools to make art.”
By using commonplace items, Jang’s collection becomes one interpretation of “Shifting the Everyday,” as he literally takes everyday items and changes their chemical balance to make something extraordinary. But despite being shown under a particular theme, Jang said he wants his audience to view his art with a blank slate mindset.
“I think it would be limiting if I were to expect the audience to get something specific out of my artwork. It’s about the relationship between you, the viewer, to the artwork and the thought formulated between that experience. I want to leave it open ended,” Jang said.
Artist Barbara Kolo’s collection also fits within the theme of “Shifting the Everyday” by using conventional mediums such as acrylic paint in a peculiar way. Dripping paint on canvases has been done before by several artists, including the famous Jackson Pollock, but Kolo redefines the technique by using squeeze bottles to drip or splatter paint with control.
“All of my work is done with dots and drips of paint. Some of them are solely dots, some are solely drips, and some are both dots and drips.” Kolo said.
The most striking characteristic of Kolo’s work is the vibrant color schemes she uses to depict her interpretation of nature-inspired scenes. The colors work together in a way that is visually enticing while still maintaining elegant simplicity through her manipulation of thick paint. In particular, her horizontal piece “Beads of Light” is especially intriguing, as it composes a scene full of bright green, yellow and orange dots into a symphony of light and space.
Kolo’s collection has a distinct cohesive appearance, and is reflective of the time she spent abroad in Europe. She said she cites Georges Seurat as one impressionist who influenced her work.
Kolo’s work is drastically different from the work of Jang, but their collections reflect the same idea of changing ordinary perspectives into something more innovative. Because their work contrasts so sharply, it creates an exhibit of various viewpoints channeled through artistic expression.
“I don’t think our art has that much in common. “¦ The colors are very different and he does a lot of techniques I don’t do,” Kolo said. “I guess that’s sort of shifting the everyday.”