presents

Two New Exhibits
featuring works by Monika Reede & Christy Wert

Opening Saturday October 11th, 2008

Maiden Rock, Wisconsin

Swan Song Contemporary Arts is pleased to announce two new special exhibitions with  “Rope” featuring austere 3-dimensional drawings by Minneapolis-based artist, Monica Reede; and “Decorative Ceramics by Christy Wert” featuring the colorful functional ware by the Montana potter.  Longtime peers, Reede and Wert share a sense of wonder about the everyday world but have manifested dramatically different bodies of art. Their most recent works are presented in these exhibitionsopening with a reception for both artists on Saturday, October 11 from 3:00-5:00. “Rope” and “Decorative Ceramics by Christy Wert” will run through Sunday November 16 and will be on view during Swan Song’s regular gallery hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00-5:00.

Monica Reede is known for elegant mixed-media works that juxtapose a variety of images - human artifacts, the human figure (or fragments of the figure) with various natural elements and beings. In her signature pieces, Reede overlays painted panels with ethereal etched plexi-glass “drawings” creating a mysterious, even ghostly, interplay of images that illuminate intersecting realities. Historically, these works have revealed the essential sensuality of the human body consciousness, the ever shifting relationship of form and void, and the transitory nature of the material world. Reede helps us to remember that what lasts is intangible; and in this, she is aligned with the spiritual practices of Eastern mysticism and the theories and discoveries of contemporary science.                

For the works featured in her exhibition “Rope” Reede takes a more Zen-like approach, simplifying her iconography and process further. Here, she seeks universal revelation through a focused meditation on a humble utilitarian object – a singular piece of rope.  In what Reede calls “the archeology of the present moment” she etches her chosen subject on plexi glass, applies oil paint to her incisions, and installs each transparent “drawing” over raw wood panels. While these completed works are direct and austere, each contains a poetic sensibility. To this extent, Reede creates a holographic truth; the rope is surrogate for other life patterns and relationships. Undulating like arteries or rivers, Reede’s images stir our imaginations to remember all that flows in the body and the universe.           

Christy Wert is a potter long recognized for her decorative and functional porcelain ware and is especially known for the surface treatment of her pots. Through her masterful application of an ancient carving technique called sgrafitto – dating to the black and orange pots of the Greeks – Wert carves elaborate images and patterns through brushed underglazes when her pots are still “green”. After bisqueing, Wert applies transparent glazes creating a rich palette of color relationships. Wert’s jewel-toned surfaces are replete with a variety of signature motifs and interlocking forms – birds, leaves, flowers, animals such as rabbits and dogs swirl around her plates, bowls and platters.

The organic motifs and flowing energy of Wert’s carved designs are reminiscent of those found in the wood block, book arts or fabric design traditions of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Indeed, Wert acknowledges the work of William Morris as one inspirational source for her lyrical iconography. Yet the greatest influence on Wert’s creative vision is her complete immersion in the aesthetic interrelationship of her home/garden/studio. The domestic scene of this interconnected world sets the stage for her discoveries, process and evolution as an artist. In this, Wert truly lives the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement. Many images from her everyday world end up on her pots – dogs playing, birds on the clothesline, favorite flowers from the perennial border.  Her finished works reflect the wonder and joy of everyday life and are lasting reminders of Wert’s connection to and appreciation for life on planet Earth.

Monica Reede received her B.F.A. from St. Cloud State University in 1988. The excellence of her work as an artist has been acknowledged through grants and awards including fellowships from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Reede exhibits regionally and nationally and is represented in numerous corporate and private collections.  Reede lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Swan Song Contemporary Arts is an ecoarts gallery on the Mississippi flyway presenting an ongoing schedule of exhibitions of contemporary art related to our appreciation for and relationship to the planet Earth. Swan Song also houses a gift shop featuring multiples, collectables and original art by 29 artists of regional and national and international reputation. The gallery is founded and directed by artist Cynde Randall who also serves as artistic director of the Minneapolis based non-profit called Bird x Bird (www.birdxbird.org), an artist collective devoted to the stewardship of avian species and the ecoliteracy of human beings. Randall is also known for her work at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where she was involved, for more than two decades, with the production and presentation of exhibitions of contemporary art in a museum context. As a retail gallery Swan Song actively promotes BxB’s mission and commits a percentage of its profits to projects devoted to the protection or restoration of wildlife habitat along the Mississippi flyway.

Swan Song Contemporary Arts is located on the Great River Road, the east side of Lake Pepin, in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, just 1 hour southeast of the Twin Cities. Gallery hours are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sundays from 9:00-5:00. Swan Song exhibits will run for 5 weeks from March through December. For more information call Swan Song gallery director Cynde Randall at (612) 250-9222 or email at cynderandall@hotmail.com.