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"Found in Translation" Art Show, Aug. 27-Sept.25 2010
Two acclaimed Chico artists, painter Valerie Payne and ceramic master Chris Yates, will exhibit together at Avenue 9 Gallery from
August 27 through September 25 with a Friday August 27 reception from 5 to 8 pm. Their show, Found in Translation, refers to the transformation of nature observations into concrete art medium forms.
Both artists draw upon long-term wilderness experiences. For thirty years, Yates has run summer wilderness camps at a Mt. Langley location so remote that burros are needed to bring in supplies. Yates has carved into his porcelains wildlife creatures such as the Big Horned Sheep, an endangered species reintroduced in the 1980s.
Yates blends organic with hard-edged forms, noting that he loves that combination in the Art Deco style.
Paynes childhood appreciation of nature was inspired by wilderness trips to the Sierras with her father, a naturalist, who helped her study tide pools and collect butterflies. Her paintings and collages in the exhibition combine lyrical drawings of plants and wild life with geometric shapes that suggest human concerns.
Payne and Yates also share studying with icons of the CSUC Art Department during the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Janet Turner, Ann Pierce and Ken Morrow for Payne and glaze and porcelain master Jack Windsor for Yates. In addition, both have been influenced by Asian art. Yates discovered Song Dynasty Celadon (porcelain of green shades that imitate jade) while doing an apprenticeship with a ceramist in England.
Payne recalls being affected by an Asian approach to painting in which an artist will first study a grove of bamboo and then paint its life force from memory. Although her art is rooted in nature, abstract elements in it are there to engage the viewer emotionally. I want my art to be somewhat of a mystery so that an on-looker can invest it with personal meaning.
Both artists will be present during the Friday August 27 reception (5-8 pm) to talk informally with viewers. Payne will give a workshop on September 17, l8, and l9, with details available at the reception.
For more information and additional images contact Avenue 9 Gallery, 180 E. 9th Avenue, 879-1821.
Contact information:
Valerie Payne e-mail: blvpayne@gmail.com, phone 345-3680
Chris Yates e-mail: cyatesty@aol.com, phone 899-9623
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