Yong Jo Ji and Thomas Gathman
April 6 - 28, 2007
Group Exhibit
Opening Friday, April 6, 6-8pm

Back for his sixth showing in April at the Grace Chosy Gallery, Korean born, American artist Yong Jo Ji along with guest artist, Thomas Gatham present their new works titled “Abstractions”. A reception for the artists, open to the public, will be held Friday, April 6, from 6-8pm.

Yong Jo Ji, a 1998 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Fine Arts Degree, continues to explore his Asian roots that reflect a Buddhist or Zen language. Using geometric shapes or images with layers of paint and harmonic colors give an end result of works that engage your senses and radiate with energy. Early works of Zen and Sumi painters captured moments of nature with fluid brush strokes. To Yong Jo, creating works of art is an act of nature, a metaphor, a single inner vision that during the creative process, becomes art itself. Using texture and colors that are emotionally charged, Yong Jo richly interweaves the colors and brush strokes to create a union of nature and man made forms. Through his work he seeks the universal language of all things, as did American painters Mark Tobey and Mark Rothko. Guided by the pure pleasure of the process of creating art and capturing a moment on his canvas, Yong Jo Ji continues to explore the union of nature and enlightment. Kevin
Nance ,of the Chicago Sun Times, had these comments on Yong Jo’s works at a recent show in Chicago.....”there is, lets face it, a whole lot of mediocre or just plain bad abstract art on display in Chicago galleries, artists sloshing buckets of pigments on canvas with little skill, to borrow from Robert Frost, its like playing tennis without a net. Contemporary artists must find their own nets, which is what Yong Jo Ji is doing with success”.

Bold color and innovative “all over form” best describes guest artist, Thomas Gatham’s images. Thomas refers to his works as “Artthink”, a combination of thinking and doing what the mind and body feels. In some instances, clear cut architectural lines combined with bright colors create order and balance of shapes, expressing to the viewer what creative art is. Thomas chooses to work in oil paint with an alkyd resin medium which enables him to paint
like a high performance automobile - quick and nimble starts and stops, lightening getaways, fast turns and smooth straight aways. Choosing to break up space in a way that looks effortless, Gatham builds his images layer upon layer, much the way nature does, slow and deliberate. In his current works spontaneous energy and color dominate the canvas. While radiating with energy there are also resting places for the viewer to take his or her own
journey, allowing good feelings and joy of color to deepen a personal understanding of art. A graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, Gatham studied under Gustav Likan and is a devotee of William DeKooning. He is a veteran of numerous group shows and twenty two - one man shows. His work is included in many prestigious private and corporate collections.

Denise Presnell-Weidner
Bridges
May 4-26 , 2007
Opening Friday, May 4, 6-8pm

“Bridges” have been a part of Denise Presnell-Weidner’s life from the time she was born and is now the focus of her exhibit at the Grace Chosy Gallery for the month of May. A reception for the artist, free to the public, will be held May 4, 5-9pm. This also is the evening of the MMoCA Spring Gallery Walk. Also on display during the month of May
will be the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras’ “Art of Note” violins decorated by selected artists.

Growing up in Nebraska, Denise, along with her mother and siblings, followed her construction foreman father as he helped build bridges across Nebraska’s highways. Memorable adventures exploring the banks of the Little Blue River and climbing under bridges resulted in finds of cherished arrowheads. Having devoted her works to images
of pure nature and noted for her splashes and dabs of paint on her canvases, Denise is now finding herself drawn to the geometric forms of man made structures. The juxtaposition of nature with the man made seems natural to her, allowing an opportunity of change to occur that both invigorates and challenges. Having spent at least a dozen years avoiding geometry, contrast and spatial depth, the inclusion of this geometric form allows her an opportunity to return to the joy of painting flat planes. As Denise states, “ I had forgotten how pleasurable it was to drag a brush across the surface of the canvas changing color and value slowly. The bridge form literally and figuratively facilitated that change.” Wether she is painting nature or engineered forms, it is color that lies at the heart of Denise’s art. She recognizes how the seemingly infinite combinations of colors affects the viewer visually and emotionally. It is in the manipulation of color that Denise defines space and form or is able to indeed deny
those two aspects of the composition. Presnell-Weidner’s current works allow the viewer the opportunity to explore this venue, showing that an artist goes through many changes in their style, their subject matter and the medium they use.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska with Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in printmaking and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Pennsylvania State University, Denise is Associate Professor of Art at Lakeland College in Sheyboygan, Wisconsin. Her works are found in numerous private and corporate collections as well as many international collections.

Jean Ceane & Anne Miotke
Watercolors
May 4-26 , 2007
Opening Friday, June 1, 6-8pm

The June show at the Grace Chosy Gallery highlights a two person exhibition featuring watercolor artists Jean Crane of Cedarburg, WI and Anne Miotke of Whitefish Bay, WI. Both have had previous shows at Grace Chosy Gallery which have garnered each a popular following in this area. Their still lifes, though stylishly different, reveal an innate understanding and reverence for shape, color and texture.

In this new show, Jean Crane moves beyond the visual organic distortions of glass and
liquid that bend and break the lines of her subject. Instead many of her floral designs fall against a dark background that seem to float tranquilly in the solitude of space. This approach heightens the delicacy of her watercolors while the emotional content keeps the painting moored in the viewer’s experience. It’s as if the viewer is seeing it from the hubble telescope capturing a floral supernova. These paintings are from Jean’s “Time Shadow” series where her use of transparent reflection provides a visually complex study of form. We see drapery and flowers fractured and reformed with a sense of unity and purpose through the prisms of glass and water.

Recent awards for her work include 1st place, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, “H20 Color Wisconsin” in October 2006, and Honorable Mention “Wisconsin Painters ans Sculptors Biennial” in March 2007.

Anne Miotke returns to The Grace Chosy Gallery exhibiting a new series of still lifes. Anne exquisitely manipulates the interplay of light and shadow in her studies. The subtle texture of a vase, a piece of fruit or a squash, are coaxed forth by Anne’s technique to reveal its true nature. Her refined edges combined with a technique of layering up to 40 washes of color establish a hue and value contrast resulting in effects that are commonly found in oil and acrylic painting. Both Classicism and Realism are terms that could be used to describe Anne’s art. To Anne, still lifes are a most deliberate art form, existing by means of a consciously selective process on the part of the artist. In Pear/Pairing, the shadows cast from the pears and cup and saucer, parallel each other showing the simplicity of the still life yet showing the objects as they appear in our daily life. According to Anne the process of her work “serves also as an ongoing investigation of the watercolor medium” and that limitations are few, if any at all.

Anne has taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Layton School of Art and Design and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She earned a MS and a MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Many of the objects found in Anne’s paintings have been collected on her travels throughout the world.

Gallery Notes
The gallery continues to show work at the Verex Building, 150 East Gilman Street, next to James Madison Park. This exhibit will be visible on the www.gracechosygallery.com website, click on the Verex Exhibit link. Work by Denise Presnell_Weidner will be the Summer display mid-July thru September. Viewing hours are Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Parking: Please remember that the parking lot next to the Public Library is only one block away and that there is also parking on the side streets. We often have room for one car behind the gallery for dropping
off or picking up items.

Art Consulting
If you are looking for a piece of art or need assistance in any way for selecting art, we can help. We provide
on-site consulting services. All you need is an appointment. Call us today to schedule your consultation.

Framing
We have a framing service both for work purchased at the gallery and also for works you have purchased elsewhere. Our moulding samples are stored in drawers. Please ask to see them.

Art Corner: Alkyd Medium
A widely used durable synthetic resin derived from glycerol and phthalic anhydride. Also called alkyd resin ; a resin used in adhesives and paints.Typical sources of drying oils for alkyd coatings are sunflower oil , safflower oil, soybean oil , fish oil , corn oil , and tall oil (resinous oil by-product from pulp and paper manufacturing).

Exhibition Schedule

Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

July 6 to 28
Pat Hidson
Paintings
Opening Friday, July 6, 6-8pm

August
To Be Announced
August 3 to 25
Opening Reception, Friday August 3, 6 to 8 p.m.

September 7-29
Helen Klebesadel
Watercolors
Opening Reception, Friday September 7, 6 to 8 p.m.


Contributors
Ellen Koch
Karin Ketarkus
John D’Onofrio

ART CORNER: Each newsletter will have a brief section on frequently asked questions.
If you have a topic you would like to have us cover, we will research the answer for you. Would you like to be a guest contributor? If so, send your copy to the editor at 1825 Monroe Street, Madison, WI 53711, call (608)255-1211, fax (608)663-2032 or email: staff@gracechosygallery.com

Pat Hidson
New Paintings
July 6-28, 2007
Opening Reception, July 6, 6-8 p.m.

Vibrancy and bold colors, terms we use to describe July fireworks, can also be used to describe the acrylic on linen works by Milwaukee artist, Pat Hidson. With an opening reception for the artist on Friday, July 6, 6-8pm, the Grace Chosy Gallery will be alive with energy and color befitting the month of July. Meeting the Canadian born Pat,
one realizes that her works reflect her love of life, there is an excitement and vitality in her paintings and one is not surprised to learn she is a dancer as well. Her works are stimulating and exploding, brisk and purposeful and the overall effect is pleasant and decisive. As a painter, Pat relates most to the writing of poetry or to the composition of
classical music. She is interested in tantalizing rather than boldly stating her themes. Her work is layered and nuanced and many images are incorporated into her work, though sometimes partly hidden. Many of her paintings are like a journal entry, reflecting events that affected her emotionally or visually. Working in acrylics on linen
allows Pat to keep the layering quite gossamer in quality and to mix rich color combinations. There is a very rich surface to the work as well as much texture.

In this show the imagery reflects personal interpretations of her subject matter. The painting, “Lucky Pig” is about a small stuffed “lucky” pig her sister sent her for Christmas. Her sister, who lives on Vancouver Island and who is a puppeteer and storyteller, possesses great joy and spirit. The overall effect of this work is stimulating and delightful.
Anne’s “Florida Home” is from a visit to Florida after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and is a tribute to the people there who were still celebrating Mardi Gras.

In works such as “ Buffalo Land “ and “ My Mother’s Kitchen Table”, Hidson has poured a colorful foundation of roughly executed squares and rectangles from which ethereal images emanate. The viewer gets the sense of snippets of memory played upon the totality of the artist’s life experience. The transparency of Pat’s animal imagery hints at the multi-dimensional nature of the artist. Many systems of experience seem to operate simultaneously in Pat’s work. There is decisiveness in her choices, yet she maintains room for the seemingly random to appear. In this exhibition at Grace Chosy Gallery, Pat artfully resides in the room where abstract meets realism. And in these works there seems to be plenty of room indeed for the two genres to coalesce in a unified vision.

Like any restless artist, Pat Hidson constantly works to incorporate her perceptions of the world and emotional vitality into her paintings. It is apparent in these new works there is much to inform each stroke of the brush and each choice of color.

Reuse/Reinvent/Create
A Group Exhibit featuring:
Bruce Breckenridge, Sarah Earle, Susan Gardels, Elizabeth Rhoads Read, & bCarole Spelic
August 3-25, 2007
Opening Reception, Friday August 3, 6-8 p.m.


“Reuse/Reinvent/Create”....yes, the “Green Concept” applies to art, and is featured at the Grace Chosy Gallery for the month of August. Five artists, Bruce Breckenridge, Sarah Earle, Susan Gardels, Elizabeth Rhoads Read, and Carol Spelic, bring a unique and fascinating interpretation to the “reuse” of various materials in their art. These works are a cornucopia of artistic elements: 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional, visually and physically textural, satisfying the most discerning palate.

Bruce Breckenridge takes ceramics to an entirely new level with his towering floor standing sculptures. These dramatic pieces are painstakingly created one element at a time. Glazes are applied to different individually slab-constructed shapes of varying sizes, fired, and attached? resulting in singular free-standing works - aesthetically whimsical yet physically dominating work of art utilizing colorfully patterned and shaped in different geometric
configurations. On a different but no less delightful level, are Breckenridge’s porcelain tile murals. High fired, weather resistant tiles combine old and new technology. The imagery has been collaged together from digitized images of local architecture (many of Kenton Peter’s buildings) and the glazes applied to the tiles using a unique computer driven glaxze spraying jet-type printer, then fired in the traditional manner. Bruce is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sarah Earle creates encaustic collages on canvas. Employing a centuries-old tradition of encaustic painting, Earle applies various papers and fabric pieces to a wood substrate using wax as the adhesive. This surface is further enhanced, modified and illuminated with an encaustic mixture of wax and oil paint. Sarah’s style can be traced to her training as a graphic designer and her current position with the Janesville Gazette. Her daily immersion in the
characteristics of type and her talent as a painter produce images with unique contrasts: the fluid atmospheric qualities of paint versus the structure of the text and fabric design in her works forces re-evaluation of these rather ordinary elements. Splashes of paint soften the rigidity of the typographic forms lending a patina of age and weather, softening and mellowing the lines. Textures and interweaving calligraphic and typographic letter forms float on different planes as they ebb and flow across the canvas. There is a sense of light dancing on shivering leaves accented by calligraphic branches that contrast with time worn letter forms. Are these memories tumbling across our subconscious or a jumble of crumbling communications? Chunky block letters and slender elegant calligraphic letterforms are given new associations with more natural organic shapes forcing the viewer to consider the overlooked grace and art of letterforms.

Madison artist, Susan Gardels exploits “gestalt” as it applies to art. Flat sheets of paper built up with layers of acrylic paints, archival glues, other paper, layers of color and her own prints are torn, sewn and patched together to invent her images. “They are crazy quilts, structures, topographic maps to travel at your own risk”, says Susan. In this exhibit Susan introduces the “House and Gardens” series. These reflect gardens she has nurtured in her homes in Alaska, Africa, Iowa and Hawaii. Describing the essence of her work, Susan states, “in some way, the
past always affects the present, yet it changes and is not a static entity. The two dance to create a subjective reality”. It is this premise which serves as an avenue for the viewer to experience her creations.

Take a recipe of paper, wood, acrylic and methyl cellulose, add imagination and artistry and you get the singular work of Elizabeth Rhodes Read. Her creative works include wall pieces as well as vessels for tables or pedestals. Many wall pieces utilize torn strips of fabric such as old sheeting woven, crinkled, pinched and folded to create interesting rhythms in the surface which is painted and stiffened with acrylic media. Some have the look of sun-dappled faded denim, coppery leather, or even cast plaster. The vessels take on a life of their own. While most are constructed from layers of tissue-thin paper bonded to jute cording with methyl- cellulose adhesive, some include wooden elements. All are colored with acrylic paint and sealed with an acrylic varnish. These artistic vessels often evoke thoughts of “sea forms“ - from sea anemones to cuttlefish bones while delighting the eye of the viewer. Demonstrating her interest in all forms of “fiber”, Read gathers and exploits the spent shells of fireworks in her series called “Salvageable Remains”. The charred and fringed layers of the paper shells - even the little fragments - are incorporated into various of her works taking on new life and meaning when presented in an artful context.

In Carol Spelic’s papier-mache art the major ingredient is “found” material. Everything from junk mail to remaindered books are the foundation for her pieces. She also reuses the trimmings and sanding dust from previous sculptures in new ones. Carol even goes so far as to recycle the water used to make the mash itself. Says Carol, “...by turning refuse into art, I am also performing a kind of alchemy.” Spelic’s process for constructing the vessels includes pigmenting the mash which creates a granite-like depth of color, and layering various colors
sequentially. To finish a piece, Carol sands it with increasingly finer grits, resulting in a controllable surface sheen. Finally the vessel is buffed by hand with fine steel wool and waxed with a paste wax. An interesting aspect of her work is that some pieces incorporate (recycle)Gregg Shorthand writing as the decorative motif. The title of these pieces is what is written on the object in shorthand. Other vessels use the natural forms of lakes and rivers seen
on topographical maps for decoration. In this case, the title is the name of the body of water or area illustrated.

Contributors:
Ellen Koch
Karin Ketarkus
John D'Onofrio
ART CORNER: Each newsletter will have a brief section on frequently asked questions. If you have a topic you would like to have us cover, we will research the answer for you. Would you like to be a guest contributor? If so, send your copy to the editor at 1825 Monroe Street, Madison, WI 53711,
call (608)255-1211, fax (608)663-2032 or email: staff@gracechosygallery.com

Contributors:
Ellen Koch
Karin Ketarkus
John D'Onofrio
ART CORNER: Each newsletter will have a brief section on frequently asked questions. If you have a topic you would like to have us cover, we will research the answer for you. Would you like to be a guest contributor? If so, send your copy to the editor at 1825 Monroe Street, Madison, WI 53711,
call (608)255-1211, fax (608)663-2032 or email: staff@gracechosygallery.com