Local look: chico
MUSINGS ON THE CHICO ART SCENE
Field Notes features the plein air works of Rebecca Wallace and Rebecca Shelley at 1078 Gallery for September 2019. One is greeted immediately by a sage green title wall, with a display of quick sketches and paintings and a few curios; a refreshing break from the typical white gallery cube. The exhibition has the familiarity of a cabinet filled with heirlooms, accentuated by Shelly’s plein air quilts and rebuilt antique singer. Quilts have a warmth and proclivity for intimacy, but there is a range demonstrated in Shelley’s quilts that separates them from their utilitarian heritage. On top of the physical patchwork lies swirling stitches that bubble, creating a pebble-like texture against the brown fabric of “Poppies.” Many of her textiles constitute mixed media, utilizing paint and colored pencil. Splendid defiance of expectations abounds in this collaboration. Where one would expect the soft, organic shapes often found in nature, the visitor is met with a surprising degree of structure. Wallace’s prints offset her more naturalistic oil paintings with patterns and geometry in faded Diebenkorn-like blues. Shelly’s quilted beach scenes also deny the sweeping curves of the ocean lapping the sands with rigid, geometric rhythm in varying shades of fabric. The studies, Singer, and woodblocks on display open a window into their journey; two artists, sometimes dappled in sunlight or dampened by fog and ocean breeze. Reminders of their process through an unfinished quilt and the equipment they used to create, reminds us of transition. A gallery exhibit often suggests something finished and in some ways stagnant, but the notion of remaining potential is fitting for plein air work. It is as though their process is unfinished, perpetually changing, much like the natural settings they spent days in will continue to change after the artists depart. Violet thread in Shelly’s flowers is echoed in Wallace’s painted cliffside, a seamless transition, their creativity extended from how they create their own personal work, into how they marry the media and expression. It is strange to feel at home in a space that still challenges and provokes, and Wallace and Shelly do just that. Perfectly.
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AuthorSara Smallhouse is tenure-track faculty in Art History at Butte College, teaches every once in a while at CSU, Chico, and is on the Board of Directors of monca (Museum of Northern California Art). She likes to walk around and look at things with her family, friends, or solo. Archives
February 2022
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