David Molesky & Laurent Martin: Smoke
May 13, 2011 – June 4, 2011
Opening Friday, May 13, 7-10pm
at Basement Gallery Oakland
1027 3rd Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Oakland, CA-Basement Gallery Oakland is pleased to present, ‘SMOKE’ a two- person exhibition by Bay Area artists David Molesky and Laurent Martin. The opening reception for ‘SMOKE’ will be held on Friday, May 13, 2011 from 7-10 PM. The exhibition will be on view from May 13, to June 4, 2011 and is free and open by appointment.
‘SMOKE’ explores our range of emotional response to fire, with its potential for utter destruction and its awe-inspiring power. It is a glowing, consumptive force of nature, smolderingly beautiful and loath to be contained. But fire becomes a malignancy- indiscriminately destructive and indifferent to our suffering- when we are attached to a burning place or sympathetic to those who are. The paintings and drawings of Molesky and Martin explore that tension between wonder and fear, giving nod to the mesmerizing beauty of fire even while acknowledging the destruction it can often cause for human beings.
David Moleskyʼs paintings of the burning hills of Los Angeles are oddly peaceful. A classically trained oil painter, he renders the city, landscape, and plasmic fire with equal mastery. But what is most striking about this series is the quiet reverence that it instills in the viewer- while gazing at natural disaster. Transcending any feelings of impending doom, Moleskyʼs paintings lend themselves toward contemplation of the immense power of nature and manʼs delicate place within it.
Alternately, the drawings of Laurent Martin are bursting with energy. Martin explores the same photograph, of the same burning building, over and over again, emphasizing different elements of the scene in each drawing. Where one drawing may focus on the structure, one on the crowd, and one on the raw energy of the fire, all drawings in the series are dynamic and embody the excitement of witnessing an unstoppable blaze.
Basement Gallery Oakland was started to facilitate all forms of creative expression, with primary emphasis on cutting edge, authentic works that concentrate on expanding the perceived limits of creativity. Our mission is to showcase art of all formats based on the merits of its originality and authenticity. We especially seek experiential, collaborative, or site specific works.
