By June Kelly, edited by Jim Luce.
Spectrum of Brightness, an exhibition of new paintings by Karin Batten – luminous abstract improvisations of color, texture and form that reflect her life-long fascination with the natural world — will open at the June Kelly Gallery, 166 Mercer Street, on June 23. The works will remain on view through July 29.
Rotation, 32" x 32", mixed media, 2011
This work is a representation of a self-created universe shaped by the intertwining moon and earth. The fractals and geometric forms represent the movement of life and the abstraction of dimensional shifting within frame. Representative of dusk, the blue sky is shrouded by shimmering stars depicted by rounded glass particles.
The paintings also draw on the artist’s travels of the past three years and her recent residency at Fundación Valparaíso on the southeast coast of Spain overlooking the Mediterranean. The nearby hilltop village of Mojácar, Batten says, “is a magical world of color, light and shade where the influences of Moorish culture are still visible.”
Medley, 64" x 52", mixed media, 2011
‘Medley’ is a depiction of the split between the eastern and western hemispheres of the World. The drawings along the left of the painting were inspired by the art of children. "Medley's" colors were drawn from my experiences in Southern Spain.
“The deep azure of the sky and the matching door and windows set against whitewashed houses are a symphony of whites and blues …, a spectrum of brightness and light,” Karin adds.
Midas, 32" x 32", mixed media, 2010
‘Midas’ is based on the Alhambra in Granada. The essence of colors and the flow of water are abstractions of my memories of the gardens and buildings of the Alhambra.
Karin incorporates a variety of materials in her paintings, -- enhanced photographs from her travels, along with hand-colored rice paper, silk, velvet and felt that add depth and texture. Soil and black magnum sand contrast with washes of acrylic and water-soluble crayons.
Surf, 28"x, 28", mixed media 2011
‘Surf’ is a depiction of the a sun set over the mountain in the Moorish village of Old Mohacar. It represents the intensity of light and the vibrations of nature.
“I play off organic shapes against geometric patterns, circles and diagonals with charcoal, graphite, colored pencils and dyes,” Batten says. “Some forms are scraped and layered, while others are fully present.
“I work spontaneously and intuitively, losing all boundaries, like swimming in a vast sea.”
Haffkrug 54" x 52", mixed media, 2011
‘Haffkrug’ is a window to a new world, inspired by the patterns, architecture and dresses of the Moorish people. The yellow is the sun reflected off the buildings in Spain.
Karin lives and works in New York. She was educated in Hamburg, London and New York, where she earned a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Hunter College. Her work has been exhibited in many one-person and group exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe, including Berlin, Paris and Zürich.
She is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York; Gallerie 70, Berlin, Germany; Belk Visual Arts Center, Davidson College, North Carolina; The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pfizer Incorporated, New York, and Reliance National Insurance, New York.
June Kelly Gallery
166 Mercer Street
New York City
Exhibition Dates
23 June – 29 July 2011
Gallery Hours
Tuesday-Saturday, 11am - 6pm
1 July – 29 July (Monday-Friday)
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