Figuratively Speaking

Five artists who use the human figure to convey meanings in fresh, unexpected ways are featured in the exhibition ―”Figuratively Speaking” at The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus, Palm Beach State College, Sept. 14 – Oct. 8 2010.

The five invited artists—Angela Dicosola of Ft. Lauderdale, Rebeca Gilling and Teresa Pastoriza of Miami, Moria Holohan of Palm Beach Gardens and Jessica Rebik of Dubuque, Iowa—represent the figure or resemblance of the figure through their personal interpretation.

Rebeca Gilling

• My work is about creation and destruction, the human struggle for survival and the inevitable end- Death.

• There are brief, quiet times where my subconscious mingles with and titillates my conscious mind. Enthralled by these moments, various images spring in and out of my brain. I gather some of these images and then assemble them to create clay figures.

• I am playing with the juxtaposition of biblical creation of man versus the creation of life through genetic engineering. I exploit human mutations and deformities. I hybridize nature’s specimens, commenting on the contemporary issues of our genetic future. These characters are generated and simultaneously sacrificed to be displayed in similar manner of ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’; where in life mutants were regarded as monsters not to be looked at but in death they are to be displayed and coveted.

• In my work, I am a mad scientist.• In my work, I am playing God.

In a Bed of Roses (male and female birds copulating)Hand built and glazed clay

Maria Rosa Hand built, glazed clay and feathers

It Takes Two to Tango (the two scorpions)Hand built and glazed clay

Jessica Rebik

• My objective as an artist is to express the emotional and psychological states that define us as human through painting. Using the convention of figurative realism as a bridge, I connect the subject’s state with the viewer, hoping to create empathy. Raw vulnerability and the quiet intensity of internal conflict are experiences familiar to all, yet not often shared or openly acknowledged—even to our selves. By exposing this, and other private psychological states, I confront my own conflicts and remind the viewer of his/her own.

Untitled 3Oil on wood panel

Untitled 4Oil on wood panel

Untitled 2, Oil on wood panel

Tere Pastoriza

• In this work, I explore the concept of balance in the context of the human experience. We are physical as well as spiritual beings and, as such, must learn to successfully navigate these two realms. It is the challenge of our existence to achieve and sustain a balance that will allow us to immerse ourselves in the things of the world without losing our selves to it.

• For millennia, thinkers and mystics alike have examined the notion of equilibrium and the consequence of attaining it. Aristotle defined virtue as the mean between two extremes. He described courage, for example, as the mean between foolhardiness and cowardice. Buddha found enlightenment in practicing neither indulgence nor depravation, but rather in what he later taught as the middle way. In this series of drawings and other works I wish to express that our individual, as well as, our collective well being depends on seeking a balance. Once we find it we must tend to its precarious nature.

Angela DiCosola

• My visually narrative sculptures and installations trigger awareness and contemplation of gender specific behavioral traits and psychological states. The work thematically references Western culture- our attraction to the Collectible, and to what is considered Kitsch as well as influenced by medieval art, particularly that of AnimaliaGrotesque. Through the traditions of slip casting and found-object art, the work’s symbolism and imagery metaphorically integrates cultural norms with humankind’s concepts of nature.