UNEARTHED BY JC
MINDY SOLOMON
MIAMI, FL
August 8 – Sept. 4, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. – Henry David Thoreau

Mindy Solomon Gallery is pleased to introduce the curatorial talents of Joe Chira AKA JC the Art Consultant in an exhibition entitled Unearthed by JC. Diverse and dynamic, the show is an expression of his passion for contemporary art and innovative mark making. A self-described art junky and exuberant collector, Chira discusses his interest:
“Art has been a passion of mine ever since I was a kid. When I started art consulting, I loved discovering artists and following their journey. While everyone was focused on figurative paintings I have always been drawn to abstraction. Abstract art enhances the creative energy of people and gives them the freedom to explore their emotions. Abstract art is all about the departure from reality. Reality is subjective, and it’s up to the viewer to define it. With this show I want to take the viewer into a space of energy and authenticity. I have chosen these artists because for me, they represent what is happening in contemporary abstraction right now. I love introducing artists that are unknown to people or may have never been shown in Miami. With this exhibition I will be able to bring my vision to fruition.”

For Unearthed, Chira has assembled a group of artists that range from emerging to well established mid-career painters. His interest in vibrant color and explosive patterning is evident in the works chosen. For example, artists Trudy Benson, Russell Tyler, Jonathan Casella and Matt Phillips all utilize repetitious line and shape in various ways. Trudy Benson’s vibrant, slashing yellow lines play against a black and white check pattern creating a unique relationship between positive and negative space. Jonathan Casella’s painting becomes more of an amorphous shape composed of patterned lines and forms against a background of bold letters that represent his signature as well as additional pigmented cut outs. Matt Philips also employs diagonal lines as a compositional element while colors appear much more muted and transparent. Russell Tyler utilizes vibrant rectangular forms that appear like piano keys playing a highly saturated florescent melody. Another fan of neon, Ali Smith articulates her heavily impasto surfaces with neon color and densely built-up brush marks to create a hidden abstract jungle. This methodology also appears to be a current running through the exhibition.

Catherine Haggarty, Natalie Westbrook, Bill Saylor and Erik Foss create frenzied canvases that evince an urban vibe. Channeling street art and graffiti, the paintings draw the viewer into articulated recognizable forms. Whether overt portraits, animal shapes, and floating organic matter, the energy of their works is palpable.

Ammon Rost and Elaine Stocki are mark makers. There is a tentative gentility to the gestures of Rost and an organic softness in the raw canvases of Stocki. One feels as though they are spying on the artists, watching them drawing their first breath through line.

Unearthed by JC is a wonderful survey of contemporary abstraction by some of the most innovative painters making work today. Exposing an array of techniques and styles, Chira shows his investigatory practices yield great results.

For more information visit: mindysolomon.com/exhibition/unearthed-by-jc/