"I tried to use the questions and answers as an armature on which to build a sculpture of genuine conversation."
-Clifton Fadiman
New
exhibition 'Organic Inhabitants: The Creature Comforts of David Hicks and Patricia Sannit' at Mindy Solomon Gallery opens Saturday, July 14th and runs through September 8th. Meet the artists at the Opening Reception, 6-8:30 PM, July 14th, and enjoy an Artist Talk with Hicks and Sannit at 6:30 PM. Both David Hicks and Patricia Sannit work with earthen material as a means to convey a relationship to the organic and historical world through hand-worked sculptural forms. A sense of familiarity, as well as structural integrity, unites these two diverse artists. Organic Inhabitants is an exhibition which not only occupies space, but also informs and enhances a three-dimensional conversation.
David Hicks grew up in the farmlands of Valencia, California. His early interest in agriculture stimulated his desire to create forms that speak to both growth and sustainability. An emerging artist, he explores physical aspects of materials: hand-built slab and coiled forms with unctuous dripping glazes. Hicks juxtaposes terra cotta earthenware clays against a multitude of colors and layers; gold metallic, emerald green, and cobalt blue shrouding burnt orange create a dynamic visual exchange. The shapes and conceptual references found in Hicks's forms can be seen in the fields of his immediate environment in North Carolina, where he now resides. Hicks's work reflects his fundamental understanding of place.
With an abiding love of archaeology, Patricia Sannit explores the development and transmission of culture through time and across distance. She is interested in the same-ness and continuity of peoples worldwide. In Sannit's work, the rhythms of everyday activities merge into a thing of beauty, and at the same time capture fleeting moments of daily life. Clay, with its inherent tactile qualities, leaves evidence of Sannit as the maker of her forms, while Sannit likewise seeks to impart the beauty of life through her medium. Sannit's works are a testament to how contemporary art can create a new pathway to archaic and powerful sensibilities.
Exhibit Information:
Mindy Solomon Gallery presents 'Organic Inhabitants: The Creature Comforts of David Hicks and Patricia Sannit' July 14th-September 8th. Opening Reception with the artists takes place July 14 from 6-8:30 PM, and artist talk with David Hicks and Patricia Sannit at 6:30 PM. Mindy Solomon Gallery is located at 124 2nd Ave. NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. The gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday from 11 AM-5 PM. Call 727-502-0852 or visit www.mindysolomon.com for more information.