Watershed Studioworks is excited to present Solidity of Presence, an exhibition of recent work by Amanda Bradley. Her work explores the multi-faceted notions of solidity as it relates to our experiences of being “present” in different moments we encounter in our lives.

From the Artist:
What is solidity? For me, it is tied to the idea of permanence. And yet, it is a false construct if we consider that everything is in a constant state of flux and continual transformation. However, we yearn for permanence, a sense of solidity, in relation to the people we love, or places and objects that are meaningful to us, and our own mortality as well. We want to grasp on to it all indefinitely. But this desire for solidity comes into conflict with inevitable change. Nothing remains the way we want it to stay. There is decay, degradation, and there is creation. The cycle continues. 

Perhaps our momentary awareness, presence, perception, and focus allow for a type of solidity, even if it is transitory. There is a brief sense of solidity that embraces the complete awareness of that particular moment and all of its layers of change and true state of being. Maybe a work of art could be an attempt to connect with our experience in all of its fragility and beauty. Maybe it could provide a sense of continuity in the face of loss. Perhaps it could even help us accept impermanence, to appreciate the moment in all of its fluidity.

Throughout history, numerous cultures have embraced the impermanence of existence. Consider the Tibetan monks who spend hours and hours meticulously creating sand mandalas, only to see their work swept away and dispersed back to nature. At each moment of the entire process, we are witness to something worthy of our focus. In Mexican culture, during Day of the Dead celebrations, people hang colorful, delicately cut tissue paper flags, representing the fragility of our lives. Inspired by some of these elements, I have begun to lightly reference these rituals or symbols through the use of sand, colorful pebbles, and tissue paper.

Water is an important symbol in my work, as while a body of water can seem to be something “solid or permanent,” it is constantly in flux. Every second, it changes and transforms from the ripples, waves, tides, and levels shifting due to drought and evaporation. Its appearance is forever evolving due to the effects of light, wind, atmosphere, or ice, a stark contrast to something seemingly static like stone or concrete. However, when exposed to water or other elements, transformations occur even in these materials. Each incarnation, once again, is equally prized and unique, giving us that moment of absolute presence.

There is pain in the transitory nature of our relationships with people who are important to us, and we try to grasp onto the idea that they are permanent fixtures in our lives. Yet, as we know, these lives are not. By examining my feelings and reactions to the loss of my mother, I look at how one’s existence is in a constant state of degradation and transformation, even following their passing. Through cremation or the processes within the earth, the bodies transform, and the spirit disperses. Perhaps there is a different solidity of presence after one’s life, or, it is merely a continuation. In one painting, I represent a whisper of my mother’s profile that is melding into a field of pebbles that fade in and out of visibility.

Another important image is roses or flower petals, touching on each moment’s fragility and vulnerability. While in another piece, the canvas itself becomes a symbolic material that is freed of stretcher bars, partially shredded, and in a state of degradation while holding an image of natural wonder and serenity.

Recently, my creative exploration of materials has led my art through its own intriguing process of transformation, beginning by approaching non-traditional materials playfully, integrating them within a series of ten small paintings. These experiments with layers and textures ultimately evolved into larger pieces that continued to investigate the shifting dynamics of solidity and ephemerality.

Through the use of rich colors, textures, and layers, using tissue, sand, and fibers, the images inspire a reflection of a single moment of existence. This highlights the beauty of not only the moment, but of the degradation and the fragility of the material. By simply being present, we can appreciate it in all of its fluidity.

With these works of art, I am attempting to create lyrical “snapshots” that challenge our concepts of tangibility and invite contemplation of presence. How do we embrace the impermanence in our lives? And what is it that remains or is created through constant shifting and transformation? Once we acknowledge ephemerality and alter our focus, I challenge that we can find a truer sense of “Solidity of Presence.”

Read a review of the show from Chicago Gallery News.

Watershed Studioworks is excited to present Tessercats, an exhibition of new paintings by Erik Wenzel. The show’s title is a play on the word “tesseract,” another name for a four-dimensional cube. 

Wenzel first became interested in the subject of hyperspace (spatial dimensions beyond the three we inhabit) while researching the early modernist avant-garde. He learned well-known artists like Marcel Duchamp and the cubists were intensely interested in theoretical mathematics and non-euclidean geometry. Some artists like Gelett Burgess took a humorous approach, while the architect and designer Claude Bragdon ventured into the spiritual and theosophical realm the fourth dimension promised to represent. For Wenzel, all this became an enticing way to think through history, conceive of abstract space as a mental place, and explore.

The other component of the show’s title is, of course, cats. “I started drawing the cat because I need something to draw and I like cats,” the artist has stated. The cat is a prompt, but it has also become a character or an avatar. The cat is drawn and painted again and again — a symbol, fussed over and meditated on like a religious icon. The cat has evolved into something like a deity or a spiritual being. Here, four-dimensional thinking comes in handy: hovering between representation and pure abstraction, each cat manifestation is an individual. The cat is now cats. Are the cats mystical beings? “They express my emotions and subconscious feelings. And they are also a reason to paint.” 

Erik Wenzel’s solo exhibitions include: Just Like A Normal Person, Even More So, 65Grand, Chicago; Schönen Abend, Galerie im Alcatraz, Hallein, Austria; and If travel is searching & home what’s been found, WerkStadt Kulturverein, Berlin, Germany. Group exhibitions include: Doomscapes and the Digital Beyond, ARC Gallery, Chicago; Artists Run Chicago 2.0, The Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; the 12th Havana Biennial, Fabrica de Arte Cubano, Havana, Cuba; and The Keys to Her Place, VBKÖ, Vienna, Austria. 

He has been written about in publications including Artforum, Artnet, Chicago magazine, and The New York Times Magazine. Wenzel’s writing has appeared in Portable Gray (University of Chicago), Akademie X (Phaidon), and How to Write About Contemporary Art, by Gilda Williams (Thames & Hudson). He co-edited and contributed to Internal Necessity: a reader tracing the inner logics of the contemporary art field published by Sternberg Press. 

Wenzel has been a Fellow at the Newberry Library, the Sommerakademie at the Zentrum Paul Klee, and the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Art. He received his MA in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago, his MFA from the University of Chicago, and BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.