VARIATIONS ON SURFACE: Four Artists Explore Landscape

Thursday, October 21, 2021 12:00 PM
Sunday, November 21, 2021 5:00 PM

The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck 6 Wonson Street Gloucester, MA, 01930 (map)

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Curated by Courtney Wilson

The exhibition, VARIATIONS ON SURFACE: Four Artists Explore Landscape, proposes that our relationship to the world may be felt and expressed in a blurred vista, horizontal line and more. The works of Courtney Wilson, Bruce Buescher, Kimberly Knowles and Katherine Richmond, explore four variations of perceived experience of landscape. The artists distill and distort landscapes to heighten awareness of them.

Wilson’s paintings set up a tension between foreground and background by often focusing on the means of viewing — a window or transparent surface — rather than what’s beyond it. Similarly, Buescher’s paintings abstract landscapes to their single key element: the horizon. Knowles uses geometric shapes and lines to reflect emotion and experience. Richmond explores and experiments her nature, and by pushing the boundaries during these fleeting moments, she was able to capture the various possibilities in this world of light and shapes. Her photographs give viewers an opportunity through their own sense of wonder and imagination to enjoy it however they choose. In all, these artists’ works seek to refocus our perception of the space and places we inhabit.

Courtney Wilson is a contemporary artist inspired by impressionistic style and reflection of light. While receiving her BFA at Endicott College and interning at Rocky Neck Art Colony, Courtney has been inspired by the vibrant history and beauty of Cape Ann. Her collection of work is a mixture of the observational and imagined. Her work plays with layers of space whilst remaining focused on a horizon line to capture both the ethereal qualities of her surroundings and memory of place. Often distilled or blurred, Courtney aims to portray a landscape representative of memory and identity. Her intention is to evoke thought through prominent horizon lines, while challenging perception of the environment through blurred or rainy lens.
Bruce Buescher is an architect and artist. A quiet upbringing in rural Texas instilled in him a keen sensibility to open spaces, nature and the horizon. Architecture school developed his ability to focus on meticulous tasks and take pleasure in details and craftsmanship. His paintings reflect this in the quiet and often months-long process involved in making them. Rather than pursuing a single subject matter or starting point, he lets the physicality of oil paint and a somewhat synesthetic feeling of hue guide the origins of his paintings. The work therefore grows out of a love of paint itself and is then informed by the artist’s past experiences in wide open and quiet landscapes.
Kimberly Knowles a Boston-based visual artist, is inspired by the intersection of high contrast and intricate detail. While receiving her MA in Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy at Lesley University, her collection has grown through different forms of abstraction, striving to grasp the movement and ephemerality of the humanity she encounters. Brief moments in vast natural spaces inform her meditative painting process, as well as each individual composition. Her artwork reflects emotion and experience through a pattern of line, shape, and desaturated hues. Through pausing to take-in each abstraction, Kimberly seeks to provide a moment of introspection for viewers, challenging how each individual’s personal narrative impacts our perception of the world around us.
Since 2012 Katherine Richmond has taken part in juried photography competitions and exhibitions. She has won twenty-six awards, nineteen are from large international competitions so far. Her photos have appeared in numerous publications and are in many private collections. Exploring and experimenting is her nature, and by pushing the boundaries during these fleeting moments, she was able to capture the various possibilities in this world of light and shapes. Given technology available today, Richmond would hope viewers would be surprised that these photographs were captured through a lens, and that minimal processing took place afterwards.
Looking otherworldly, her work references the color, shapes, and textures. The images' formal aesthetics are similar to contemporary paintings. The intoxicating landscapes of bold colors and dynamic shapes, create excitement that moves beyond the original form and photography. These photographs give viewers an opportunity through their own sense of wonder and imagination to enjoy it however they choose. Colors and shapes that soothe our soul are inherently different from one individual to another, and when we connect with them, we are deeply moved. Both enchanting and haunting, my work engages the viewer with the flow of mystery.
Katherine Richmond was born in Boston, took up photography in 1976. She is attracted to nature, animals, people, abstract, and documentary photography. She lives and works in Gloucester, Massachusetts.