February 2012
Brian Kirk is intrigued with the forces of nature. He considers himself a naturalist and a curious spectator of natural phenomena. The natural actions of wind, water, fire on the ever-changing earth hold a fascination for the artist. The cyclical forces play a role in his work;the ebb and flow of the tides, the changing stages of the moon and the emblazoned autumn leaves.
January 2012
Human society spends a lot of time and energy combating its natural origins. When an aspect of humanity bears too many markers of a natural process, we either privatize it or ritualize it. Over time, those aspects are elaborated upon in the form of clothes, ceremonies, architectural motifs, laws, and other modalities. Those privatized and ritualized aspects are the grounds for culture’s existence. It is this membrane between nature and culture that the artist is interested in exploring. It is a virtually indefinable territory, because it permeates every corner of our lives. The modes of presenting Horstman’s findings are diverse, reflecting the ubiquity of the subject. The artist employs drawing, photography, installation, objects, sound, and video. The photographs are hung as a frieze around the gallery depicting a natural pond as it transitions through the seasons. They are significantly placed in a position of cultural reverence and presented in a very linear and rational way. So is this nature or is it culture?
Horstman’s work examines the underlying principals of how human culture is constructed and how it relates to the natural systems in place. He sees ecology as the system through which an organism interacts with its environment. In that sense, this work is entirely ecological.
Horstman received his BFA from Kenyon College and his MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. He has exhibited nationwide, as well as in Paris, France.
You can view more of his work at www.fritzhorstman.com.
January 2012
On a broad universal level, Monica Stroik’s paintings reflect the fact that each of us makes daily choices, some conscious and others unconscious, which all have consequences. Those areas that are in more focus versus those parts that are more hazy or unclear define this breadth of awareness. The effect of these choices may cause us to change direction or confirm the direction we are already pointed towards.
On a personal level, these paintings are specifically tied to an experience that happened many years ago, the effect of which affects Stroik on an almost daily basis, the degree to which is tied to the choices she makes. The more aware she has become the less noticeable are the effects experienced on a daily basis. However, the hazy parts of her paintings display the irony that she can never fully be in control of the effects of her choices because of the damage the cause created. So, infused within this dichotomy of conscious and unconscious is that mysterious notion of that which is totally out of her control.
Monica Stroik was born in Philadelphia, PA but grew up in Reston, VA and is currently residing in Baltimore, MD where she is working on her MFA at the Mount Royal School of Art of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She received her BA in Studio Art from Mary Washington University and an MAT (Masters of Arts in Teaching) from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Last December, Stroik finished a six-year studio residency at the Arlington Arts Center in Virginia. During this time, she was also a secondary art education teacher for the Arlington Public Schools.
You can view more of her work at www.monicastroik.com.
Watch the artist interview here.
January 2012
Lucinda Friendly Murphy has been fascinated by science and the process of evolution, from the Big Bang to computers. Change seems to be the only constant. This passion has led her to explore through some of the unanswered questions in science.
Most recently, Murphy has focused on exploring order and chaos from both the scientific sense and in the sense of how we perceive the difference; literally and psychologically. Agnes Martin, an American abstract painter, suggests that “art is a record of mindfulness.” Murphy likes to think that her work will increase the “mindfulness” of those who pause to look at it.
Murphy is a Washington, D.C. native. The first 20 years of her adult career, Murphy was a landscape architect. At age 40, she returned to school to study art at the Corcoran School of Art and American University. Her work has also been highly influenced byher travels and studies in China, Mexico and the former Czechoslovakia.
You can view more of her work at www.lucindafriendlymurphy.com.
Watch the artist interview here.
