By Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend. Courtesy image
CAMARILLO — The new exhibition “Making Amends,” opening at the Blackboard Gallery at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo, is a family affair.
A father, mother and son trio, each an accomplished professional artist in their own right, now for the first time ever are coming together in one presentation. The exhibition runs through August 27th. The Artist’s Talk is set for Saturday, August 20th at 1:30. Artists Wyatt Amend, Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend, and Richard Amend each have their own creative voice and use it to develop unique concepts within contemporary subject matters. Yet the family connection cannot be ignored and coalitions can be seen throughout the work of each, at least that is what is anticipated within this show. When asked about the preparation of the exhibit, Susan said, “We are planning what pieces to show and how our various points of view will interact. We create on the same property but produce with different materials and approaches. However, every day our practice is seen commingling throughout our home and studios, so we have some specific experience and ideas about how the art responds, one to another.”
By Wyatt Amend. Courtesy image
Wyatt Amend, son of Susan and Richard, has developed a multitude of techniques using clay to emulate glass. A visual comparison is that typical of the Venetian style with fine detail and intricate forms. Working more like a woodworker on a lathe, Wyatt carves clay on the wheel parallel to thirteenth century Venetian techniques on the blowpipe. Wyatt has combined carving and grinding techniques with a variety of glazes and clay bodies while working and learning in the glass department cold shop at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, during a recent three-month residency. These cut forms are then further glazed, fired, and carved, modulating surface and form in new ways. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Sculpture from Sonoma State University, Wyatt has had several solo exhibits, and has participated in several residency programs.
Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend will have a mixture of work showcasing different series. One series that will be most prominently displayed is her “Luxury Glass Series”, which features elaborately blown and cut glass motifs and forms found in the Brilliant Period, 1880-1920. For this series, Susan is painting images of glass on glass, firing each work in the kiln with vitreous paint. This process begins by taking photographs of cut glass objects. The photos are then computer edited and manipulated nearly to abstraction as the connection to the original glass item is left behind. Throughout the painting process Susan reworks and paints with the reflected light patterns as the foundation rather than the original form. Two other series that will be featured are “Brilliant Cut”, watercolor on silkscreened prints of cut glass patterns and “Man View”, which is about various perspectives of men painted on clear glass panels.
By Richard Amend. Courtesy image.
When asked about his work, Richard said, “No matter what current series of work is on the docket, I often return to the large format, black and white landscape drawing. Vertical by intention, these pieces challenge nature’s horizontal, panoramic predilection.” Richard’s paintings are visually arresting and mysterious as they investigate nuanced details of nature, architecture, and illumination to the point of abstraction.
Rather than processing things and places into his pictures, Richard makes deliberate formal choices when considering a particular motif or details within a larger image. Looking closely, these decisions reveal a preoccupation with specifics within physical experiences, for example the curves and lines of shadows, or passageways.
Count on seeing collaboration throughout the exhibit as well. Wyatt is working with both Richard and Susan. He and Susan (clay and glass) both deal specifically with issues of craft when talking about form, function, and decoration and are collaborating on some bottle forms. This show will be a stimulating experience for viewers and the artists, both of whom will have the opportunity to interact at the reception and at the artist talk during the month of August.
The Blackboard Gallery is located at 2222 Ventura Boulevard in Old Town Camarillo. Gallery hours are Tuesday 11 – 3pm, Wednesday through Friday 11 – 5pm and Saturday 10 -3 pm.
For information, visit www.studiochannelislands.org or call 805-383-1368