Some work by Michael Kays and Gabe Chiarello
Opening Saturday, July 13, 7-9pm & on view through July
Gabe Chiarello / Artist Statement
Gabe Chiarello is a visual artist and multi-instrumentalist making work from his home studio in western New Jersey.
As an obsessive collector, Chiarello is interested in the re-purposing and transformative experience of everyday objects through heavy layering of glass, resin, wood, paper and more. He often “paints with scissors,” generating multimedia work with a collage-inspired approach. What may appear from a distance as two-dimensional work has three-dimensional depth. If the work is successful, its content will be somewhat representational but bear no reference to what original found materials make up the final product.
Never high-brow or self-serious, Chiarello’s work is colorful, whimsical and decidedly fun. Tapping into childhood inspiration — artwork that doesn’t just live on walls — Chiarello’s most recent output is some of his most imaginative and accessible to any age demographic. Chiarello likens it to looking at the world like a Rorschach Test, seeing hidden images and meanings within mundane objects and pulling them to the surface with a playful and creative mind.
Acting on impulse and never quite knowing where a work will end up, Chiarello focuses on the process itself — including recycling parts of a single piece’s process into future works. Always working on many things at once, a compulsive desire to keep moving propels making and allows for little time to dwell on final products. For Chiarello, there is no first and last move. The practice is set in motion, and each piece is part of the next.
Michael Kays / Artist Statement
In my artistic practice, I immerse myself in the dynamic interplay of color, pattern, and process and how these elements fuse to create an active dialogue within a viewers psyche. For me, creating art is about building a narrative, a story woven from the intricate threads of color and form. I seek to understand the natural order of the world through the lens of glaze chemistry, delving into the mysteries of transformation and alchemy that occur within the kiln.
Clay and glaze are not just mediums for me; they are vessels of communication, conduits through which I express my vision and connect with the essence of the material itself. By listening to the rhythms and nuances of the materials, I become attuned to their possibilities, allowing them to shape and inform my artistic exploration. Through experimentation and intuition, I allow the materials of clay and glaze to guide me, shaping my creative process and leading me towards moments of discovery and revelation.
I believe that color and pattern are not static; they possesses a vitality and movement that can transform a piece from mere object to living expression. Drawing inspiration from the principles of colorist Josef Albers, I explore how color and pattern interact to create a unified whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Ultimately, my goal is to evoke an experience, to invite the viewer into a dialogue with the work that transcends the visual and engages the senses on a psychological level. Through my art, I hope to awaken a sense of curiosity and connection to the natural world, reminding us of the beauty and complexity that surrounds us.
