Two Visions: Textural, Accessible, and Collectible

In non-object art, visuals in which there is no identifiable subject matter, where the elements of art become the subject-line, value, color, shape, and texture-what realm is the artist putting the viewer in touch with?

In the non-objective works of Bill Kramer, when viewer focus is not on easily recognized objects-the figure, fruit, trees or rivers, for example-cognitive recognition is thwarted and the imagination becomes intensely engaged. This relationship between viewer consciousness and the interplay of non-specific visual elements is a principal driving force in Kramer’s mixed-media works. He offers up a connection to the contemplative in works like “Catcher 3” and “Catcher 4” where teal backgrounds are frosted with warm tones of gold and orange and where texture is a dominant feature. A Rothko-like invitation to a spiritual world beckons in these appealing pieces.

In works like “Myriad” a Big Bang kind of energy surfaces. Swirling shapes and overlaid line add up to an explosive aesthetic feel. A postmodern approach to layering adds sophistication to pieces like this.

Kramer’s alternating warm and cool palette is part of his signature style, along with the expressive nature of his line, and his scrumptious use of texture. In Kramer’s figurative works, when a subject does appear, it is often bamboo, a plant that Kramer describes as one of the most “beautiful” on the Hawaiian Islands where he has lived and which has become the inspiration for this series, which includes “Bamboo # 2.” Kramer places the main bamboo plant off-center and uses areas of fine detail and textural complexity to give life to this abstract work.

To repeat: what realm is Kramer attempting to connect the viewer to in works such as these? A naturally beautiful and spiritual one, it seems.

Elemental mystery is present in all of Mitch Hoffart’s paintings and mixed-media/collage works. There is a pervasive tonal reference to a numinous world that houses the plants, birds, and vessels in Hoffart’s creations.

For example, in “Inherit” small white birds-objective creatures-float in a space that resembles an ordinary landscape, but the turquoise of the sky and the small dots that populate the lower portion the wood panel suggest an imaginary sky-scape, one where primordial forces, plus human manipulation are both at work.

In all of the Gallery 514 works, filmy, atmospheric earth-tone backgrounds are omnipresent. Another overarching Hoffart feature is the delicacy inherent in the work’s flora. An example of this combination is found in “Meek,” a title that further suggests the artist’s preoccupation with subdued energy fields.

Hoffart uses texture to delineate figurative elements and to enrich surfaces. Even the textures are mediated by Hoffart’s subtle palette. An additional aesthetic characteristic is his use of chiaroscuro, a fine modeling from light to dark that seems to suggest a world where these gradations mean something beyond changes in the grey-scale and modulations in pigment. What that something is remains as mysterious as the artworks.