In Other Words by Shawn Stipling & The Edge of the Sea by Cecilia Vissers

Gray Contemporary is pleased to announce two solo exhibitions. In Other Words by Shawn Stipling will be featured in the Main Gallery and in the Second Gallery The Edge of the Sea an exhibition of works by Cecilia Vissers, will be on view. Both exhibitions open Saturday, December 3rd from 5 – 9 pm.

In the Main gallery are a selection of recent works by Shawn Stipling. He finds interest in creating a personal dialogue with the viewer and by reducing the scale, and consequently the viewing distance, the observer is invited into a more private and focused interaction with the work. The black flat painted surfaces which have a deceptively manufactured appearance, are built up of many thin layers leaving no discernible signs of brush marks.

While Stipling’s work is very precise and exact and usually very sparse in content, he chooses to use no mathematical ratio, system, underlying grid or arbitrary force which could influence his thinking. However, they are not completely random, rather each is an illustration of a simple concept: perhaps an overlap, misalignment or the restriction of the image to the edges. The empty space serves to hold the elements in place, separate them or allow them to interact.

Stipling states, “It is important, however, to create a situation where the viewer is fully aware that these carefully balanced pieces are the deliberate result of specific choices and are not the random consequences of chance. Therefore I use techniques which make it evident that accidents cannot happen, affirming that perhaps a slight misalignment or irregularity, for example, was not created by a serendipitous moment but by a conscious decision. I am interested only in communicating in a completely intuitive way whilst, at the same time, being as precise as possible with the language I use.”

For over a decade the practice of Cecilia Vissers has remained committed to refining and perfecting the effectiveness of her sculptural idiom. The curves and angles of her wall-based objects are milled to within fractions of a millimeter, and the surfaces of her plates are also subjected to exacting control standards in order to meet her artistic requirements. The industrially manufactured aluminum panels obtain their color by the process of anodizing.

The curved incisions made to the profiles of the aluminum and steel geometric forms expose the thickness of the material and accentuate that these are shaped objects rather than paintings. (Alistair Rider UK)

Cecilia Visser’s sculptures have precedents in constructivism and minimalism. Her serial arrangements and her emphasis on the presence of the material closely relate to the work of the minimalists.

“Many of my works consist of multiple panels, the space between the individual panels becomes part of the work. The single geometric elements that are repeated form a larger composition, I like to think of my work as one installation piece.”

“My works take their inspiration from remote landscapes; in particular the coastal landscapes in Ireland and Scotland. The connections are not made on visual correlations; they exist at an experimental level. Being alone in nature, climbing a sea-cliff and overlooking the Atlantic … These visual sensations allow me to focus on the essence of life and art.” As Cees de Boer wrote in his essay ‘Side by Side’: “the landscape speaks about the artwork as much as the artwork speaks about the landscape.” The energy flows both ways.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Shawn Stipling lives and works in Essex, UK. Solo exhibitions include: Factory 49, Sydney, Australia; Oriel Theatr Clwyd Gallery, Wales, UK.

Recent group exhibitions include: Claudia Weil Galerie, Friedberg, Germany; Galerie Olivier Nouvellet, Paris, France; Galerie Floss & Schultz, Cologne, Germany; Galerie van den Berge, Netherlands; Transmitter, Brooklyn, NYC; Gallery North, Glasgow Kelvin College, Scotland; International Biennial of Non-Objective Art, Pont de Claix, France; L’Espace Christiane Peugeot, Paris; Abstract Project, Paris, France; Varsonofevsky Lane, 4/1, Moscow, Russia; ParisCONCRET, Paris, France; Articulate Project Space, Sydney, Australia; SNO Contemporary Art projects, Sydney, Australia; T.A.S, Groningen, Netherlands; Galerie Olivier Nouvellet, Paris, France; Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden, Essex, UK; Galeria Espacio Abierto, Calahorra, Spain.

Cecilia Vissers, born 1964 Beverwijk, she lives and works in Sint-Oedenrode , the Netherlands. In 1993 she graduated from the Academy for Art & Design, ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Her solo exhibitions include Galerie Floss&Schultz, Cologne DE, inde/jacobs, Marfa, Texas, USA, the Summerhall, Edinburgh, UK, Galerie Corona Unger, Bremen, DE, Masters & Pelavin, New York, USA, Nouvelles Images, The Hague, NL, Museum Waterland, Purmerend, NL, ParisCONCRET, Paris, FR. Group exhibitions include Zartheit at Galerie Floss&Schultz, Cologne, DE, Opening Celebration, inde/jacobs, Marfa, Texas, USA, 3 Kunstlerinnen aus 3 Landern, Multipleart, Zurich, CH, Embodying Colour, Haus Metternich, Koblenz, DE, Kleinbeeld 2, Museum Waterland, Purmerend, NL, Painting Black, The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery, New York, USA, Architectures Du Silence: carte blanche aÌ Christophe Duvivier, Galerie Gimpel & Muller, Imaging Agent, Park, Tilburg, NL. Cecilia received grants from the Dutch Embassy, New York, the Brabant Art Foundation, Tilburg, NL, Stokroos Foundation, Utrecht, NL,The Netherlands-America Foundation, New York. Residencies include, Heinrich Boll Foundation in Ireland and Virginie Janssens Stichting in France.

Pictured:

Cecilia Vissers Medardus 5, sandblasted & anodized aluminum dia 7.75 x .50 2009/2014
Shawn Stipling All Your Favourite Words 1, acrylic on panel 8.25 x 6.25 2015