From: Subject: Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 08:15:17 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C47932.02906640"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1409 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C47932.02906640 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.richmond.com/printer.cfm?article=869585

=20
Printer Version Of Style = Weekly=20

ART
Ready = for Prime=20 Time
At Main Art Gallery, three VCU grad students add to = the dialogue=20 of the great modern art debate.

Jenny O.=20 Ramirez
Tuesday July = 18, 2000=20

Main Art Gallery is currently luring viewers up their = spiral=20 staircase by displaying the paintings of Matthew Fisher, Beth = Gilfilen and=20 Heide Trepanier. It is an endeavor worth that winding journey. = Curated by=20 Shirley Kaneda, a New York painter and Virginia Commonwealth = University=20 visiting artist, =93Trans=94 features three recent or soon-to-be = graduates of=20 Virginia Commonwealth University=92s MFA program. At first glance, = one may=20 be inclined to think that the only commonality between these = artists is=20 their educational background. Some works are quirky, colorful and = cartoony=20 while others are dark, muddied and organic. Together, however, = they raise=20 the very dialectical issues of modern art such as emotion vs. = intellect or=20 subjectivity over objectivity, most clearly enacted mid-century = between=20 abstract expressionism and pop art.

The most obvious eye = candy in=20 the show is Trepanier=92s =93A Gradual Instant (Fill).=94 Two = adjacent walls are=20 covered with aqua acrylic paint while floating on their surface = are rings,=20 drips and bubbles cut from enamel on contact paper. Such care and = trouble=20 to make each form pays off in the forms=92 ability to ooze and = flit across=20 the matte surface. The sheen of the red, green and white enamel = forms=20 animate the wall, much in the way goldfish, coral and bubbles = enliven a=20 tank of water.

Fisher also employs candy-box colors of hot = pink,=20 lavender, sky blue and peach. Fisher=92s paintings are even more = derivative=20 of pop art with their sharp edges, cartoon forms and bold, = advertising=20 appeal. Fisher varies the size of his canvases from long, narrow = strips to=20 large traditional rectangles. They project from the wall and, like = Trepanier=92s forms, struggle with the restraints of = two-dimensionality.=20 Despite their physical projection, however, Fisher=92s works are = decidedly=20 flat. Each features either a pool of solid color or a Frank = Stella-esque=20 grid as a background with a funny little onomatopoeic blob on top = that=20 squirts, dribbles, splashes or plops. The sound of a splash is = made more=20 literal by the droplets surrounding the form =97 comic-strip = vernacular for=20 liquid displacement.

Initially, Gilfilen=92s three = paintings did not=20 seem to mesh with the hard edge and whimsical styles of the other = artists.=20 Her large canvases are a nod to abstract expressionism with = complex=20 expanses of color in rich earth tones. Hovering on the surface are = undulating, energetic, contorting lines that seem to have a mind = of their=20 own. Much more organic and fluid, Gilfilen=92s forms seem to be = the seaweed=20 in Trepanier=92s aquarium. Richly layered, dark and yet strangely = carefree,=20 her oil paintings seem to explore the world of the internal and=20 biological. =93Conglomerate,=94 for example, is purely abstract = but seems to=20 reference the double helix of a DNA model or the muddied deep = world of an=20 algae-filled pond.

=93Trans=94 is an impressive gathering = of =93new=94=20 artists. Main Art Gallery and Kaneda are to be commended for not = only=20 offering a glimpse of paintings fresh from art school, but even = more=20 significantly, aligning those paintings together to set into = motion the=20 continuing dialogue of the modern art debate. =

=93Trans:=20 Matthew Fisher, Beth Gilfilen, Heide Trepanier=94 is on display at = Main=20 Art Gallery, 1537 W. Main St., through Aug. 29. Call 359-3499 = for=20 details.

Related Info.:

=93Trans: Matthew Fisher, Beth Gilfilen, Heide = Trepanier=94 is=20 on display at Main=20 Art Gallery, 1537 W. Main St., through Aug. 29. Call 359-3499 = for=20 details.

<= A=20 = href=3D"http://www.zip2.com/styleweekly/scripts/map.dll?mad=3D1537%20W%2E= %20Main%20St%2E&mwt=3D350&mht=3D280&mct=3DRichmond&mst=3D= VA&YpOp=3Dmap&type=3Dgis&method=3Dmapaddr&Search=3DView+M= ap&ck=3D25697435&version=3D334718&ccity=3DGREATER+RICHMOND&am= p;cstate=3DVA&adrVer=3D922804285&ver=3Dd3.0">Map=20 It
<= A=20 = href=3D"http://www.zip2.com/styleweekly/scripts/doortodoor.dll?ep=3D8200&= amp;mid2=3D0&mal2=3DDestination&mad2=3D1537+W.+Main+St.&mct2=3D= Richmond&mst2=3DVA&mzc2=3D&chkLmDest=3D1&ck=3D&ccity=3D= GREATER+RICHMOND&cstate=3DVA&adrVer=3D922804285&ver=3Dd3.0">G= et=20 Directions =

A service of Richmond.com=20

------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C47932.02906640 Content-Type: image/gif Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Location: http://images.richmond.com/images/template/SW_news.gif R0lGODlhjAA8AMQAAD4KD9ejGOzy+8wzM5ihrP//mfngU+rDK3pBAoAMIuZ9GcwAM6SXU7XA1qe2 wKp5Cv//zMXR7MzMzMu6SNfj+tpNGcQXKqi4mLS+fe3cloSEg9k1JGZmZtAZJv///wAAACH5BAAA AAAALAAAAACMADwAAAX/oCeOZGmeaKqubOu+cCzPdG3feK7vfO//wKBwSCyaCgZDYHlIFlKZgnRK rVqvUognSs24CgevSMCdinHIwzJwaD6/gQcCQE/QEYiAQVtS4P+AgYKDeA8TAgaBDxcrEAdzBxQi EHKAAQ03BQF4dAB2AIUHfCmPngkDqKkWCawPBiUPAAustLW2t7gDExQFpqwKjCkQAXQLFQYCIrG1 AQ41jnMJFqmqswkPoigHdNTdqgl5bx4Pp97m590dFbsFCNMDC8AqxOULARLK5QMdzTTD3OhQdWAV QNyIbfpQWVhobtUDMeSoLZzIsBvFigrX8XKHKl6wE+30LbBwIFlEhf1k//xLGHDftVcj2gGgtmBB hw0bOtR8lyqBAi8nUeEcitMb0aKqNLZ75zGFAQDvFh5gQGCcPgspYyDsVrPrSK4DDjgTQYxmhTYT JqhRYKEDzQMaBJxcaCCt3QMiFdS1a+DBgozsOMKTp21mxwAYCJi8mvWFTInGFEiWvIEnvAMEIkwK Gs8AAQINIjRwgMFAXgyYgnbAHKF1hG2pPIYOnQFBOQtKBTctrArziKBYx8IoG3vDgQkXkl8o7bfj OuEhFXbwrJkEJcMDSFa1mmo1poPY42GwbhvwRqaET8BGKRx44xbRFW7w7ECSBwGIPB2+YN/D06gV oHZEedmt851qB3wnwv96g2GQzCQE4hYYeh+ZwGBwvzEmnAsMXgaaCcTt49sIT8WmAAb9kRjeifYh qKAHDIr3oAcQRJgbhU7plp57G7YQS2zrbGfdXLq8WKJzKFoIgFuDXfDgXN6REOOJM9ZYz40dpTcg eg7mo8p7K8QHTwCKmWBlBzptMEF1IhyZnXEpLrgkmvZ8RA6dCyQo5YpdQpgAnVg2KcxcaraoIQxL SSfWCRmssQYDbHqQ6GFnjODoGhpYemljU/a5xaYMnJdlhSBedUB1PMLgpoQvkjCaA7A6UGZMBB4G 0wgUxAorAcJFwGusBOADnomeevAqsJLqSGoJeMWWUqovhChenMMlNFD/Hnvk0OmMOeLo1IrBQOtC AHk5WUMif9EEDjYGzbAtC4l4i8J/o3rJHgyc6WFAG/weIGwL5DIpESvYjqIVn9yiMKmMpIQXQLiH vhBUdp1U/ECxKjRa0zmzIOCKwRwizEJ8ElJrqcNjicsCJSx5w7ALjVbwVUOt3BoysQmfwLKz/5aQ yG2rpRxxCzsH9LILEhygwAYze7MKAiW98C4L5KpCEsiS/ujcBAcOvfLE5hztAgUYqFGBBU3TBHXO vGWJ8bwIpAtPAnoUAIEUpbw1q8qNTNwWmoCL/UIEF0wQwNIbc2Uc20riTHTV3YEDiH4mTtCe130z psamcdWQKwNmp91g/wtTw9scZKxYBs8xndubHZgq5HuBrrqKkAHWgxceANMSFcpC6b/7pbrTxsAV Kd8rcHbiPA88wEYSjKdAwQUHyEzTJb+L7IIAhjMtOtoLbMCGBpFyd68JAtgNwfrrewB5g9HLxAoA hlSZxP0GVIrrIzztpgLwLBAABpawNIFZYAMKYANVqIU8GlXiDwGggGmSsotB3cZ3mwEFBMu3mdNE T06OiwHh1CISPWggMyhoYI18kQCuTaotp5pHOdyyphFYaSF/4VoKPbgCAA4HXCbL0Jd61MHurKkd crNHq0rwvtWwKT7qqOEJlGeu/2lvBu8TT/IwV0SB1JAzAYoelGLYJv+obI2DDizXB2F0RRlkkUqx 42IajYiJ910Gjcm6oBTZ6KxZ+YxyHsqeiaqIRTXGcYg6U40O4wUkZKgnPOuoDskGYIDxDAg701iU zvjgpnjcjkbuKtcWeyMs9mmhaPvQISpXl62YbMVt9gmRS5znBCRsAjuD2SMTm/cABmCyAnFo3iF6 yAZ+TWBF++JXBGGhjw4kkJfQDAAHmqlDGAmmI9co5i0Tkqft5I0aAyEYJwCZHe2kYBmssAgtEKDL EzzFE51IyCoqpgAhuS47uKAFOKs5DJaEM55cUYDlRCCBAFivIRNxWQAYsEQhBiSKeFSRwFpijx6B rSV0JNHpMAoP47T/zgMFVUDiMIq2AEzAnia4qEUiuQI3YbSizOSoNzpQzQX5ZaIc82j5KGC4s4mO Jn85zken+KeLXCR87TTBfzpg1KbClAR3aqpUJ7KAmt7HcGgbXnZqogC4NNQDFyBgBZjqlZGoY3x+ 3OFR1joAlqrANGuNK074YdEEyPWuG0CFnkggAAYcrjJlnUZXA0A+FVCAAH4l4GQSuAQGFJYFjN3U ph4QURFMwHmSzewD7CmAyGb2s3EgorESe7jJNPaEaxxBBBygAQa41rEnrM8LctWA2tr2trddowBw y1veOqBnHqBtb4d7W9miwFetda0GTtiA1KbAuUaIrnSnS93qWve6uUirSrA80DoCaIADDxKAdzkw AgloV0iZKm+mBJBe7LrXVQDwAB3kOwYAcIADwiIAAL47Ag4AQAAA+FeARwBgAMf3vQgWAQD0u+AD y5cDCnLAfvujATpsaMAjqLCDE/xeOnx3vyOwr3AkjN8Me5gEG1Zwezns3gpLwMX1/Ux+A9zeCgNY wPedEYhZ/F4BkFcC5O2vf4VFgfsG2VjkXa6Q/9vfr/L4yVCOspSnTOUqW/nKWM6ylrdcghAAADs= ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C47932.02906640 Content-Type: image/gif Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Location: http://images.richmond.com/images/template/icon_arrow.gif R0lGODlhBwAMAID/AMDAwJ0LByH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAHAAwAAAIPhI8YCeHqXou0WhMV27sAADs= ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C47932.02906640--