Structural Perception
Structural Perceptions on exhibition from February 16th through March 3. A reception for the artists and the public will be held at the Piano Craft gallery on Friday, February 16 from 6 to 8 pm.
Coming from a background in institutions this group of emerging artists reflects on their education in art history deeply analyzing traditions and conventions of art making; attempting to disrupt them in any capacity. Ranging in procedures and processes what each artist has in common is a determination to interpret their environment exploring the subtleties and the extremes of modernity.
The continuing evolution of these artists' fascination with their environment is expressed in their recent works. In recent years these artists' work has expanded to answer the question ” What is the purpose of an artist's existence today?”
As many of the artist come from identities far different from their counterparts studied in many institutions perhaps their very existence is a subversion of conventions
The exhibition is comprised of paintings, sculpture, photography, and installation, exploring facets of modern human experiences from parties to quiet interiors. Many works include assemblage using found material, abstract sculptures, and the notion of a figurative presence; in quiet spaces is there evidence of humanity, is there evidence in the abstract, how is something felt and understood beyond the usage of words?
“My favorite thing to see when going to exhibitions is the youth, young people with a different kind of energy and excitement for the arts. It was something that was very rare for me growing up so when I feel any sort of doubt when making work I remember that I must continue; not just for my sake but for the sake of others like me, its important to me that those next up are able to see someone who looks like me working earnestly and honestly toward our shared passion”
Ricky Vasan
“For me my studio has been the one place where I feel I can be my most authentic self. Out in the world I have to put up an act in some sort of form changing some part of my appearance to look a part. In the studio however everything is on full display, I’ve found it has to be this way for a constructive .dialogue between myself and my work. I feel as though when I am painting I am my truest self. My goal is that others can see that authenticity in my work and feel free to express themselves in the same way I do.”
Maggie Riendeau
Audrey Permunian:
Audrey is motivated to find the beauty in a world complicated by the extremes of life and a constant stream of information. Her attention to the natural beauty in the world serves as an antidote, allowing her to take the viewer on a journey of beauty, refinement and silence, exploring the deeper idea of what may be or could be.
She works to provoke the viewer to consider multiple perspectives. Her compositions challenge the viewer to abandon preconceptions and consider alternative interpretations within the visual field of an image. Her photographs are digitally and physically manipulated constructions that challenge the viewer, asking them to consider a world assembled, woven, and composed.
Caleb Keys:
Caleb Keys is a photographer and painter based in Lynn MA. Having graduated from Montserrat College of Art in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Photo/Video/Film he now works for RAW Art Works through AmeriCorps helping youth gain access to college and career opportunities.
Caleb is fascinated by creation that occurs when we enter a state of flow, where our mind is occupied by nothing or rather by a seamless connection to the present. In this state, we do our best, most precise work, and make connections that we cannot yet understand. It is here that we are guided by the strings of enlightenment.
Josue Bessiake:
Josue Bessiake is an African American painter working in Beverly, Massachusetts whose work is heavily influenced by his environment. He was born to two parents who immigrated from Côté d'Ivoire in 1993. Growing up, his family bounced around the Midwest, allowing him to observe a multitude of settings and environments that shaped how he looked at the world. Bessiake's work ranges from abstraction to representation but what all the work has in common is a determination to express his connection to the world around him—depicting his relationship between the spaces he inhabits and the relationship between those known and unknown. In his practice, Bessiake finds it is crucial to work from life. Taking up the same space as his subjects helps him see them more deeply, gaining a sense of empathy for his subjects. Because of his itinerant upbringing, Bessiake is constantly asking why things are the way they are, how they can be transformed, and whether they should be transformed.
Maggie Riendeau:
Mary Johnson:
Mary Johnson is a 23-year-old multimedia artist based in Beverly, MA. She recently completed her BFA from Montserrat College of Art with a concentration in Painting. Primarily an oil painter, Mary also enjoys experimenting with elements of mixed media such as collage. Her last show took place at the Carol Schlosberg Gallery in Beverly.
Morghan Elena Schnoll:
Morghan Elena Schnoll is a mixed media conceptual artist of Spanish and Italian descent born in New Jersey and now resides in Beverly, Massachusetts. She obtained her BFA from Montserrat College of Art, studying Painting and a double minor in Art History and Curatorial Studies. Morghan's work alternates mediums from assemblage, collage, painting, sculpture, and installations. Her experimental desire allows her to adopt different techniques, manipulating visual perspectives and juxtapositions to reveal a labyrinth of allusions assembled from scavenged, discarded, weathered materials. Morghan's practice invites viewers' imaginations to a field of curiosity and free contemplation within their subconscious. Rather than imitating reality, the fragmented process shifts narratives upon layers when humor can quickly turn tragic, ultimately dependent on the viewer's speculations, values, and personal history.
Ponita:
Ponita is a painter born in Niigata, Japan who is currently based in Lynn, Massachusetts. She has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting at Montserrat College of Art. Her works have been shown in Niigata and Beverly.
Pyre Klein:
Pyre Klein is an interdisciplinary artist based out of Beverly, Massachusetts. Klein is a student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Montserrat College of Art where they are studying painting and sculpture. With an interest in exploring the poetic potential of materials and processes, Klein considers their work to be a form of contemporary alchemy. Their current work focuses on producing imagery through means of collection.
Ricky Vasan:
My work is a quiet celebration of the minutiae of life. I find inspiration in intimate moments and private spaces. The figures I choose to paint are often significant people in my life, and it is through this autobiographical lens that I attempt to tell a story. Inventive colour relationships and geometric shapes act as artefacts of our connection to culture-based recollection and our individual cognizance. I am interested in creating a surface that is full of history, each mark recalling cherished experiences. Spaces collapse, figures vibrate and objects are superimposed on top of one another. The resolution of these paintings comes from a search. The lines and swatches of color are the revelatory instruments. The goal is to tap into a tender moment bereft of logical perception of time, accuracy, and space, in a way that resembles our perception of memory and is faithful to our way of remembering.
