January 27 – Februrary 26, 2010
Reception: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Jamie Brunson

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"For me, the success of these paintings relies on their capacity to evoke analogous sensations of expansion and connection in the people who see them.” - Jamie Brunson

Jamie Brunson works with a mix of oil paint, alkyd medium and refined beeswax to build up layered, shimmering surfaces that extend beyond the canvas. The process of manipulating the paint demands a level of consciousness and presence that mirrors her kundalini meditation practice. The rhythmic, cyclical breathing in kundalini practice aids in dissolving the boundaries between oneself and the external world. Brunson uses veil and lattice forms to evoke these experiences and employs the physical qualities of paint to mimic the kind of perceptual sensory phenomena that arise in meditation—blurring, overlapping, dissolving edges, and radiance. Brunson also references traditional Indian and Tibetan yantras, which are esoteric tantric diagrams used in meditation practice to work with the subtle body. Brunson received her BFA from the California College of the Arts and her MFA from Mills College.

Catherine Dudley

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“I collect the visual elements and work them into my art through photography, drawing, painting, screen-printing, and finally collage. Evolution is the center point of my process. I achieve this through intuitive and recurrent construction, deconstruction, and recombination of materials and imagery.” - Catherine Dudley

Catherine Dudley’s mixed media collage technique is derived from skills developed over the last fifteen years, involving a variety of media, intuition, and whimsy. Her inspiration is directly related to the visual complexity and imperfect beauty of the urban landscape. From old signage and graffiti to architectural forms and repetition in nature, these city elements or “visual souvenirs” work their way into her art via color, shape and pattern. Catherine Dudley studied studio art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Texas, Austin.