In Lafayette - Art Exhibit: Bronze and Paper

Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery

3620 Mt. Diablo Blvd.

Lafayette, CA 94549

925.284.1485

www.jenniferperlmuttergallery.com

www.facebook.com/JenniferPerlmutter

Clay Jensen + Betty Friedman, “Bronze and Paper”

The Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Lafayette, CA, is pleased to present a two-person exhibit of Bay Area artists Clay Jensen and Betty Friedman. The “Bronze and Paper” exhibit opens May 2nd and runs through June 6th, 2015, with an artist’s reception on May 2nd, 6-8PM and Artists talk on May 12th, 6:30PM.

“Bronze and Paper” brings together two powerhouse artists that have honed their craft and developed methods of creating fine art that results in stunning objects of sculpture and one-of-a-kind prints. This exhibit will feature Clay Jensen’s new series of bronze plates and large vessels and Betty Friedman’s new and completely unique works on paper. Both artists have lived and worked in the Bay Area for decades. Although working in entirely different media, both artists honor craftsmanship alongside spontaneity and “in the moment” freedom while creating their abstract work.

Clay Jensen’s new series of bronze plates and large vessels are created using the method of sand casting, a process of packing loose foundry sand into a steel frame around a pattern made from wood or found objects, instead of lost wax casting. Lost wax casting is a much more time consuming and restrictive process. Sand casting is a simple, more immediate way of casting bronze that allows the artist a certain amount of “in the moment” freedom. It is very much like drawing as opposed to painting and allows for a more fluid expression of the hand at the moment of making.

The act of breaking a plate in the sand process and then casting that impression in metal creates a solid, reconnected, permanent bronze monumental image of a preserved domestic act. His work is often a vague self portrait. They express a symbol of struggle and his relationship to the domestic world around him. The use of patina (chemicals) to color and texture the surface of the bronze creates a feeling of melancholy – time past and present. The grey and muted colors reminds Jensen of the time between dusk and dawn, when it’s hard to see. It is a questionable period, not light and not dark, a sort of “in between.” Possible traces and references to domestic human behavioral history through artifacts found at an archaeological dig. His large amphora-like vessels can be compared to crucibles with their ware and stain of time in the furnace, like small worlds unto themselves.

Clay Jensen has exhibited his work in galleries and museums throughout the United States. He has numerous works in public and private collections internationally. He received a National Endowments for the Arts Apprenticeship Grant as well as the SECA Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Clay Jensen is currently teaching sculpture at the California College of the Arts, where he has been for over 25 years.

Betty Friedman uses the skills and demands of papermaking and printmaking to produce her abstract work. This process merges the two media. The prints do not begin with a preconceived subject, but rather evolve through the interaction of printmaking and papermaking. She finds the endless possibilities of this sometimes unpredictable process liberating and exciting.

Over the years Friedman has made a variety of paper and etching plates. These are the raw materials that she begins with and the abstract images on the etching plates are considered her vocabulary. While working on a composition, she makes design decisions about how to combine the raw materials into a finished print. Printing without the ability to make a proof—having only one chance to get it right—keeps this process fresh. Often reworking areas until she is satisfied with the balance of the color and the entire composition.

Depending on their size and complexity Betty Friedman’s art may require months of work in order to complete one piece. The size of the prints can vary from intimate to large-scale nine foot images. In her process she draws and produces etching plates, creates paper fiber, makes sheets, then applies the chine collé (collage) method by placing the sheets on top of each other while printing inked plates. This final step involves simultaneously placing different layers of paper through the etching press in one pull to unite them.

Her award winning work is included in the Oakland Museum of California as well as many other prestigious collections. Betty Friedman currently teaches at Notre Dame de Namur University.

The exhibit will be open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00AM-5:00PM and by appointment. Check website for additional hours. Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, 3620 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA 94549. Contact Jennifer Perlmutter at (925) 284-1485 or jp@jenniferperlmuttergallery.com.

About the Gallery

Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery is an artist-run gallery featuring the work of developed and emerging art. Founded in 2013, the contemporary art gallery seeks to elevate the level of art appreciation in Contra Costa County, while sharing programs and events to educate and foster community.

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