DEFINEART: October 2014

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Introducing Lauren to the DSFA Team

Hello, I’m Lauren, Darryll’s new assistant at Darryll Schiff Fine Art. I have been working with Darryll as part of the DSFA team since August of this year. I am a fine art and fiber artist in addition to being a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a bachelors in fine art and a minor in art history, soon to be going for my masters.

I was drawn to the position as Darryll’s assistant from the moment I came across his listing on Columbia’s job board. I clicked on the link to this very website and came across Darryll’s portfolio of work. Quickly I became captivated by his art. His style was unlike any fine artist I’d seen before. The colors and quality of his ephemeral photography left me with a deeper interest and desire to know more about the driving force behind his work. It wasn’t until later that I read his bio and found out his artistic intent to capture the impermanent yet constant flow of contemporary times.

There is a soft sadness and yet beauty that comes with being an individual of the human race (especially during this millennium of social media and technology). In Darryll’s work I see this. We are all part something bigger and united, yet we don’t always communicate this, which is very much a part of the human condition. We are a passionate and vivid species and yet we are also an autopilot species, one and the same. Darryll captures individuals in complex moments of thought, enjoyment and reflection as well as completely absent minded, walking briskly through the rat-race portion of their busy days.

We are each uniquely alone, even when gathered together. It’s not a tragic truth, in fact we are all united by it and can relate. Through Darryll’s poetic photography, viewers can contemplate life’s little mysteries, as the visual experience almost heightens all other sense until the viewer is convinced they can hear, see and smell the scenery and become lost in it. The sheer size of Darryll’s large works makes this extensively possible.

At DSFA Studio, I often find myself contemplating a single word to convey the images that are so overwhelmingly vibrant. Motion, though important to the aesthetic vocabulary of Darryll’s work is not where I landed. Rather, I came up with “Essence”, the very title of one of Darryll's prominent series of work. I deemed essence appropriate because it is the intrinsic nature or indispensible quality of all Darryll’s subjects that I respond to in his art. He has a true talent and a distinctly beautiful vision when capturing the essence of his subjects, whether it’s human, place, nature or thing.

As a fine artist I find working with Darryll inspiring. Being his assistant is refreshing. Working beside Darryll as he creates new bodies of work keeps me motivated to continue with my own art practice where I seemingly “paint” with material.

My process is very different than Darryll’s but holds it’s own calm, meditative effects in the repetitive series of highly physical steps when slashing, tearing, knotting and stabbing in order to create. There is a physical cycle of death and rebirth brought on by my hands, the work is activated by violent acts that have a calming effect as repetition breeds peaceful frustrations.

Above are samples of my work and a link to my site laurenike.com if you care to see more, or you may also like my artist page on facebook where I update my latest works in progress facebook.com/artistlaurenike

I have over 230 fabric pieces that are roughly 5"x5", I did a variable piece that covered a 14'x8' wall with this series of work. The installation is shown below at Chicago's A+D gallery. Come see this body of work installed at Beverly Arts Center's 38th Annual Arts Competition showing November 7, 2014 - January 4, 2015.

Darryll’s work is clearly very different from my own but ultimately it relates in the feelings both bodies of work provoke. I’m of course referring to the energy that is

felt in each vivacious piece. Each component gives its own impression, frozen only to a point as change hangs in the air. There is always action, reflection and growh that comes with life.

I hope you enjoyed my introductory post. I have high hopes for my future contributions at DSFA. Until next time! - Lauren

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Confluences

©Darryll Schiff

As an Otium featured artist, I was asked to take part in the Otium Collective exhibition, Confluences held this past September. This was an exciting showcase full of talented Chicago artists. Otium, as you may not realize, is a Latin word meaning to withdraw from one’s daily business and affairs to engage in activities considered to be artistically valuable or enlightening. Given the definition, the Otium Collective was appropriately named as it offers artistic enlightenment through its community of artists and the work we have to offer.

©Darryll Schiff

The exhibition was a colorful curation that featured the artwork of notable artists such as Flow, Rita J, Joseph “Sentrock” Perez, Erin Burke, Tara Zanzig, Brett Whitcare and myself – all of which are artists who have a prominent presence in Chicago’s Art scene. The show consisted of a variety of styles showcased through different mediums, all of which portrayed the unique perspective of the artist. The works of two photographers (myself being one), multiple pop-art and stencil artists and the artistic renderings of personified creatures filled the gallery space with color and vitality. Performance artists and live painters conveyed their slice of life as each artist depicted a colorful truth about themselves and the world we live in.

As it so happened, my contribution to the show was a piece from my Descending to Heaven series, which became the centerpiece of the entire show. Hauntingly gravitating, my piece hung alone on the back of the gallery’s white wall and beckoned viewers to experience it up close, from the moment they could first see it when entering the exhibition. On opening night I watched as my sole piece captivate the interest of many, curious if they knew I was the artist behind this alluring piece.

It excited me to see how our group of collected artists drew a crowd of art enthusiasts to experience our work, together for the first time all in one place. What I reflected on that evening was my place as a prominent member of an ever growing, and ever changing art community full of inspiring individuals.

Of course, I cannot mention the show without giving credit to the talented curator who made it all possible, Ophélie le Troadec. The intended goal of the Otium Collective is to create a network by artists, for artists and judging by that criteria, our group exhibition was a huge success! Each unique voice that was brought together for the Confluences exhibition played an active part in painting an abstract picture of what it means to be an artist in the city of Chicago. I hope that in reading this blog post, and viewing some photos from the event, you too will have a better understanding of our artistic intent and need to share in the beauty we dare to express.

Congratulations to all of the artists on an excellent group exhibition! We had a wonderful show and I want to thank all of the Chicagoans who came out to see it! For more information on the artists involved see the Featured Artists link on the Otium page http://otiumcollective.com/

Please stay tuned for a look at my all new series, I will be revealing images soon! - Darryll

Website

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Introducing Lauren to the DSFA Team

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Confluences

Show us how you define art. Send us a link to your work and you could be featured!