by Patricia Frischer
 |
Keith Haring at The Broad |
Dual Visions: Sijia Chen &
Kelsey Overstreet at Willian D. Cannon Art Gallery, Carlsbad
View until Dec. 16, 2023
Cedrix
Crespel: D I S T A N C E at Madison Gallery, Solano Beach
View until Sept 30, 2023
I walked into three exhibitions this month so far and was just
blown away. After a month of no art in London due to the anxiety of a
clearance, I had forgotten how healing and uplifting a good show of art could
be. The first was the Keith Haring exhibition in LA, which was downright
impressive. But then I was utterly lost in these quite different approaches to
landscape in Carlsbad and Solana Beach.
Landscape is only viewed if we look up and away from our cell
phones and that is too be encouraged unless we all are to become nearsighted
techno geeks. Stretching the eye balls to a horizon and walking into that space
is even better.
Dual Visions features abstracted
works created by artists, Sijia Chen and Kelsey Overstreet as does Distance
by Cedrix Crespel. Yes, you can look closely at the work and see a world of
detail, but the first impression is a vista.
Sijia Chen's uses paper collage but not in random
shapes, but cut out carefully into complicated forms. I suspect some are cut to
eliminate certain colors, as the hue is used to create the illusion of volume
in her hills and valleys. Looking closely, you see a taxi cab here, a lip there,
an official form or a private face. It is like she is taking the detritus of
life and terraforming it. I found that interesting, but the long view is
compelling as it creates lush acreage with meandering streams or coastal
eddies.
Kelsey Overstreet’s works takes us on a walk into her
imaginary landscape. I felt I was almost in a cosmic universe where there was a
certain language that tethered me, but I was really allowed to float free. Each
canvas seemed to explore a completely other place. The varied types of marks,
in each work, created these unique environments. Once I stopped trying to read
the work as a whole, I was able to explore her world
Pop Up Art: Meet the Artists
Sat, Nov. 11, noon – 2 p.m. with Kelsey Overstreet – Free
Cedrix Crespel creates a very different
journey of distance between his wife and himself. These are really love
letters, a sharing of space to stay connected. In his previous totally abstract
works, you don’t get a sense of human scale. But these truly lovely airbrushed soft
backgrounds are filled with enough hard-edged hints so you know it is mountains,
ponds, or forests. The work evokes a
quiet calm which was very appealing. Crespel is showing his love and I was
feeling it.
Want more landscapes variations? Watch for our report on
Boundaries Edge Techne Art
Center in Oceanside from Oct 28th to Jan 20, 2024
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