The Gallery at Shoreline Center presents “Maps and Puzzles of the Imagination” now through Feb. 27, an exhibit that features an assortment of mind puzzles in the form of art. Paintings by Sue Robertson and Mark Skullerud and photography by Ray Weisgerber are the focus.
Sue Robertson works with liquid or soft body acrylic on canvas, board or watercolor paper. Her style is loose and very colorful, and she often incorporates other elements such as ink, graphite, paper, and beeswax. Whether she is painting a landscape, still life, or abstract, the subject is simply a vehicle for the color and the stroke. Working from her imagination, she goes wherever the painting takes her and often works on several painting simultaneously. She calls her work “Joyful Art” because creating it brings such joy to her.
Mark Skullerud’s paintings start with a visual pattern that has no intrinsic meaning, then he works small areas into the foreground and background, lightening and darkening, by gut instinct and experience. After a while the drawing begins to suggest something. Not until this point does any conscious intention come into the process. Subsequent drawing gives definition to subject and surroundings so that once random visual elements now feel as if they belong together. When the composition has clarity, ambiguity, and balance, it’s finished.
Ray Weisgerber says of his photographs “The viewer completes the interpretive process in any artistic expression, and that is especially true with these images that resemble, in some ways, Rorschach ink blots.” Viewers have unique reactions to these photos, often including the discovery of images within the images, and oftentimes faces.
“The puzzling nature of these images may cause the viewer to look for familiarity and rationality, Weisberger said. “I believe there is a strong, universal need in man to form order out of chaos, and I believe these images explore that desire.”
The public is invited to an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22.
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