Tell Me a Story: Narrative Works
Anima Katz, David Austin and Tona Wilson
January 26, 2012 through March 4, 2012
Carrie Haddad Gallery is pleased to announce the first exhibit of the 2012 season “Tell Me a Story—Narrative Works” featuring a pictorial history of being black in America by Anima Katz; Tona Wilson’s social injustice series about laborers, prisoners and politics; and the covertly sinister paintings of David Austin. The work will be on view from January 26th through March 4th with a reception for the artists on Saturday, January 28th from 6 – 8 PM. All are welcome to come and meet the artists and share a glass of wine. Anima Katz’s new series, To Be Black in America, is a compelling reckoning with the twisted trajectories of race in America. The paintings are depictions of the shame of racism and the promise of Civil Rights. Using a deep understanding of this history, Katz has created a body of work to show the highs and lows of African American culture. The paintings are similar to a Folk Art aesthetic; characterized by a naive style, in which traditional rules of proportion and perspective are not employed. Ms. Katz will also be exhibiting a series of larger paintings highlighting some of Manhattan's treasured buildings. Anima Katz began painting at the age of fifty-three, after mastering needlepoint and writing poetry. Like many artists who begin late in life, she is self-taught and has developed a highly original style that owes very little to outside influences. Katz was born in Cologne, Germany and works and lives in Shaftsbury, Vermont. Her paintings have been exhibited locally and at several very successful shows at the Albany International Airport gallery. Tona Wilson was born in NYC and studied art in Chicago. A small inheritance took her to Buenos Aries where she lived for several years making art and learning Spanish. Back in the USA, Wilson found work as a translator in the prisons and courtrooms of Upstate NY which inspired a series of heartfelt narrative paintings. relate poignant social messages about the human condition. In the series “Courts and Prisons”, she depicts the labyrinthian immigration system of offices and courtrooms, handcuffed men and women waiting, prisoners laboring. Another series titled “Cells” consists of dark watercolor and gouache paintings depicting intricate little rooms in an underground world of fear and hiding, the walls built to protect and isolate, piled high with possessions. The final addition to Ms. Wilson's exhibit is a film of her animation works. Each series of works Wilson creates relates a poignant social message about the human condition. It is an honor to include her work in this exhibit. David Austin offers discreet social and political commentary in his paintings. Sleek, shadowy figures, men in black suits and ties looking very FBI or CIA, lurk around corners, sit in darkened rooms and huddle into jets. There is a dark spin to the paintings in which he says he explores “the dynamics of life such as: beauty within horror, light within dark, calm within tension, quiet within chaos, or hope within despair”. The narrative remains unresolved and mysterious. Austin graduated from the College of St. Rose and has exhibited his work extensively in the Capital Region since 1999.
