Wisconsin Academy: Side-by-side solo exhibitions open May 13 at James Watrous Gallery

Contact: Jason A. Smith, communications director, or Jody Clowes, exhibitions manager / 608-265-2500

Donald Friedlich: Organic Matter and Dianne Soffa: Storm Candy

MADISON– Solo exhibitions by jeweler Donald Friedlich and painter Dianne Soffa (both of Madison) will be on view beginning Tuesday, May 13, 2014, at the Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery, located on the 3rd floor of Overture Center for the Arts in Madison.

Details are as follows:
Exhibition dates: May 13 – June 29, 2014
Opening reception (free and open to the public): Friday, May 16, 5:30-7:30 pm, with an informal gallery talk by both artists at 6:30 pm.

EXHIBITION DESCRIPTIONS

Donald Friedlich: Organic Matter

Donald Friedlich has developed an international reputation for his elegant, innovative jewelry in glass and gold. His current repertoire of brooches includes curving, leaf-like shapes, subtle rounds that suggest rippling water, and a delightful series cast directly from items in the produce department, like celery stalks, apple slices, asparagus stalks, and sections of squash. Friedlich has always been interested in creating jewelry from non-traditional materials: his early work was made in slate, optical glass, semi-precious stones, and even ceramic tile. Since the mid-1990s he has concentrated on glass, which he works in two ways: “cold” (using lapidary techniques like a traditional gemcutter, as well as etching and sandblasting), and “hot” (casting hot glass or fusing powdered glass in heat-resistant molds).

This exhibition features selections from four series of Friedlich’s work. The Aqua series is inspired by wave patterns in water and raked sand in the Zen gardens of Japan; the Flower Petal series, cut from sections of blown glass, are geometric abstractions that resemble flower forms. Friedlich describes his Magnification series as “site-adaptive” jewelry: brooches shaped to develop spherical optics that either magnify the weave of the textiles on which they are worn, or create the illusion of glowing from within. His most recent Organic series transforms everyday fruits and vegetables into sensual, brilliantly colored marvels with a sweet sense of humor. As Friedlich says, “The idea of wearing a stalk of celery as a brooch makes me smile.”

Biographical information can be found at wisconsinacademy.org.


Dianne Soffa: Storm Candy

Dianne Soffa’s abstract color field paintings in encaustic, oil, and acrylic have thick, luscious surfaces, luminous color, and an emotional core. Ranging in size from tiny, 4 x 4 inch pieces daubed with wax-based encaustic to 6 x 6 foot canvases painted with bold, sweeping strokes, all of the works share the artist’s dedication to color, beauty, balance, physicality, and the power of memory.

Many of Soffa’s paintings represent her interest in using color as a trigger for memories that cross the boundaries of the senses, interweaving visual impressions with taste, smell, touch, and sound. For Soffa, dense purple captures the humid, crackling atmosphere of a summer storm’s approach, while certain shades of green evoke the hum of mosquitoes in an overgrown backyard. In some cases, specific personal memories of childhood summers in small town Wisconsin have inspired the work. A large, hot red canvas titled Aphrodite Meets Ferrari, for example, connotes speed, luxury, and the racy Jaguar that her father drove only in summertime (it was terrible in the snow, as Soffa recalls). While Soffa’s abstract canvas doesn’t describe the car, it captures the heat and excitement of zooming down a country road on a sultry day brilliantly.

Biographical information can be found at wisconsinacademy.org.

FOR MEDIA ONLY: Download images from the exhibition at flickr.com.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Dane Arts and the Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The James Watrous Gallery also receives ongoing support from Doubletree Hotel-Madison and the members of the nonprofit Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

About the James Watrous Gallery
The James Watrous Gallery is dedicated to Wisconsin visual art and artists. A program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the Watrous Gallery’s mission is to promote the visual arts in Wisconsin through quality exhibitions and educational programs. For gallery hours and more information on exhibiting artists, please visit wisconsinacademy.org/gallery or call 608-265-2500.