FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paper: First anniversary group exhibition

June 9 – July 29, 2006

Artists in the exhibition: Kelly Breslin, Beverly Fishman, Máximo González, Shane Huffman, Shona Macdonald, Chris Natrop, Melissa Oresky, Kim Piotrowski, Natalie Settles, Josh Smith, Shinique Smith, Elyn Zimmerman.

Skestos Gabriele Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of PAPER: First anniversary group exhibition. This exhibition explores the ways in which contemporary artists utilize paper as a foundation for their art, as well as a primary material in their work. Each artist in the exhibition employs paper as a malleable medium and approaches the material in a variety of ways. Kelly Breslin (Chicago, IL) uses paper as a backdrop for her gestural meditations on form, movement and personal iconography. She also uses paper as the foundation for sculptural forms. Beverly Fishman (Bloomfield Hills, MI) transfers the visual language of saturated color and multi-layered digital imagery from her multi-paneled paintings to inkjet prints. Máximo González (Mexico City) uses paper in a traditional way in his suite of screenprints, but also utilizes hand-cut paper, specifically devalued currency, in unconventional ways in his collaged constructions. Shane Huffman (Chicago, IL) investigates the primary elements of photography, including light exposure and time, on photographic paper. Shona Macdonald (Bloomington and Chicago, IL) and Melissa Oresky (Bloomington, IL) collaborated on a series of landscape-based drawings, in which sheets of paper were passed back and forth between the artists, each contributing to the composition in their individual style. The hand-cut paper installations of Chris Natrop (Los Angeles, CA) function as paintings, sculpture, and "drawings made with a knife" as they create a dialogue with the space in which they inhabit. Kim Piotrowski (Chicago, IL) combines elements of graphic design, Abstract Expressionism, and popular culture in her vivid compositions. In her work, she explores the formal qualities of painting and drawings, such as color, form and gesture, while simultaneously addressing issues of personal significance. In her quiet contemplations of nature and the cycles of life, Natalie Settles (Madison, WI) uses paper and negative space as significant compositional elements. The practice of making art for Josh Smith (New York, NY) is spontaneous and expedient. Working with paper allows the artist to explore ideas of gesture and form in an intimate and immediate manner. Shinique Smith (New York) uses paper as a transformative material that can be used both as sculptural matter, as well as a foundation for her collages and drawings. The large brush and ink drawings of Elyn Zimmerman (New York, NY) derive from black-and-white photographs of currents of water and evoke the abstract language of gesture and atmosphere.

For More information contact Skestos Gabriele Gallery at 312.243.1112 or info@skestosgabriele.com.