HARTFORD, Conn. — You may say, “What is Un-Art?” The Un-Art show is an annual un-juried, un-themed, and un-curated event held at Artspace Hartford, and hosted by Tao & Amy LaBossiere.
There, all kinds of artists can show all kinds of work “without the constraints of a thematic or curated selection process,” according to the gallery.
The LaBossieres created this event in 2008 to allow local artists to show their work. Plus, they get to help raise money for the Dog Star Rescue in the process. This year's show ran for several weeks in Feburary.
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Over 100 artists - emerging and professional - hung their works salon style in the gallery, from floor to ceiling. Celén Viscera, Keith McDonald, and JaxtheCatalyst were a few of these.
Viscera’s current body of work consists mostly of body horror paintings, including surreal morphism, and what she calls “Spiritual Gore.” She had several pieces on display.
Death Strikes the Coyote is a piece created with acrylic and bones.
“I think that in order for my art to reflect the concepts it is trying to portray it is important that it makes the viewer slightly uncomfortable, which bones and such are wont to do,” she said.
Bones are a recurring motif in Vicera’s work because they are a personal link between the living and the dead. She also uses them to represent both the conscious and unconscious.
“My work also often includes motifs of contortion, whether that is slightly uncomfortable body posing or completely distorted body morphism," Viscera said. "I figure this is my subconscious way of representing the fluidity, as in literal fluidity, of the living mind.”
Viscera is working on exhibiting more in New York, as well as returning to Burning Man in Black Rock City. You can see more of her work on Instagram at @celenxviscera.
McDonald is a self-taught photographer. In his retirement, McDonald takes portrait photos and the occasional landscape. As Miroslav Tichy put it so eloquently, photography is painting with light, and McDonald can really paint. In his piece, Sundown at Pardee, McDonald captured the bright glow of the setting sun across the darkened waters.
“Properly posed and lit headshots have always been my favorite,” he said.
Many of McDonald's portraits are chiaroscuro photos. Chiaroscuro is a high-contrast lighting technique that uses low-key lights to separate the dark background from a lit subject.
Since McDonald photographs for personal enjoyment, he has no concrete plans for his next show, though he may explore more landscapes in the future. You can see his body of work on his website.
JaxtheCatalyst works primarily with inks and watercolors and uses printmaking techniques.
“Building layers of value to my work, section by section until I attain the desired look or effect, stippling and hatching allow me to produce the greatest amount of detail in my work," he said. "When I started introducing color to my work, I found that watercolor was the ideal medium as it retained the details that had been set down during the inking process.”
His piece, *facial is a great example of the printmaking techniques he uses, such as the blue stippling. JaxtheCatalyst said the piece is meant to be disorientating.
“I had a very broad idea of how to depict such abstraction from oneself. As I continued to shape this concept, the phrase "inhale fire, exhale desire" kept repeating in my mind," he said.
JaxtheCatalyst plans on employing a wider range of materials and more printmaking elements in his work. You can see more on Instagram at @jaxthe.catalyst.
Ashley RK Smith is an assignment desk editor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at asmith@fox61.com
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