SURFACE STRUCTURE

Works by
Debra Giller
Kyle Huffman
Maria Napolitano

January 27 – February 25, 2005

Each artist in this exhibition uses elements of both surface and structure in various ways in their work.

Surface is defined as the outer or the topmost boundary of an object, a material layer constituting such a boundary as in the surface of the moon or the surface of water; in mathematics, surface can also be defined as the boundary of a three-dimensional figure or a portion of space having length and breadth but no thickness. Surface can also be defined as superficial, as in something or someone living on the surface of things and experiences. Surface is both adjective and noun existing as a tangible object, as a concept, or as a way of perceiving experiences

Structure is defined as something made up of a number of parts held together in a particular way. It can also mean the way in which the parts are arranged to form a whole; the interrelation or relation of parts; to give form or arrangement to; and finally, it can define something constructed such as a building.

Debra Giller writes, ‘I create objects that convey a multitude of visual associations that relate to organic forms and man-made constructions. Many of these associations are suggested by flowers and mechanical objects. I like the intricate shapes and biological associations evoked in machines as well as the exterior worlds of cellular life.’ Her work combines both decorative surface embellishments and an extreme understanding of the malleability of clay. She creates delicate intricacies that belie the difficulties of working with the medium. She says, ‘My work process involves a combination of play, intuition and technical rigor. The large sculptures are made with thick coils and divided into sections like a Lego set. When the sections have stiffened, I carve and add shapes. I layer different glazes and fire the work several times to achieve rich layers of texture and color.’

Kyle Huffman collects and deconstructs garments and remakes them into non functional works. The old garments are reborn as amalgamations that interweave the memory and shape of the initial forms into new structures. She writes, ‘The unique qualities of fabric, its sheen, texture, weave structure, decorative patterns and color serve as a visual as well as tactile palette. Up close, occasional buttonholes, zippers, darts, seams, pockets and stitching scattered across the cloth make reference to its previous life and its relationship to the human body.’ Of her process she says, ‘Braiding, accumulating, piecing, mending are some of the textile processes I use. In some cases, the fabric, the innate nature of a garment or its deconstructed self will suggest the new structure and the form it will take. In the series of nets, I explore drawn and constructed forms derived from the skeletal structure of the garment. The sleeves, neck openings, waist, collars, and hems are pieced together to form a larger network.’

Maria Napolitano’s paintings seem to be an exploration of the world at a microscopic level and the world revealed in symbols or code. She writes, ‘In my work, I use both metaphor and illustration to investigate what matters in the everyday. The paintings have a cryptic style that records and arranges information, thoughts, and images: what I think of as “the data of life.” The space can be both unarticulated and diagrammatic and the color, subtle and unexpected. My re-examining of the physical forces of nature gives form and synthesis to my experience of the unnoticed and unseeable.’

Giller holds an MFA from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio and a BFA from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Ceramics at Endicott College, Beverly, MA and also teaches ceramics at Arlington Center for the Arts, Arlington, MA. Recent exhibitions include a solo at Bromfield Gallery in June 2002 called Alchemical Pleasures and at The Gallery at Green Street, Jamaica Plain, MA, 2001. Group exhibitions include State of Clay, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Lexington, MA, 2004; Craft as Art/Art as Craft, Arts Worcester, Aurora Gallery, Worcester, MA, 2003, and Who’s Who Faculty Show, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA, 2003.

Huffman received both her MFA and BFA from School of the Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois. She currently teaches Fiber Arts at Massachusetts College of Art. Awards include a stay at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine and an Honorable mention award The Art of Teachers from the Marwen Foundation, Chicago, IL. Recent exhibitions include La Vida de la Tela, Centro de Arte La Casona de los Olivera del Parque Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002; The Body as Poetic Space, Collage de las America Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2002 and Those Who Teach, Marwen Foundation, Chicago, IL, 2000.

Napolitano holds an MFA in painting from Syracuse University and a BFA, also in painting, from UMASS Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA. She has been the recipient of two Individual Grants in Painting from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts first in1981 and again in 2003. Recent exhibitions include solos at Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence, RI, 2003; New Paintings and Drawings, Wheeler Gallery, Providence, RI, 2002. Group Exhibitions include Summer Show, Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence, RI, 2002 and Surface and Space- a drawing invitational, Hunt-Cavanagh Gallery, Providence College, Providence, RI, 2002.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language