CULTURE HALL all about what's new and the latest in ART

http://culturehall.com/


Culturehall
Curated online resource for contemporary art


All Artworks
Abstract
Comic
Conceptual
Documentary
Folk
Functional
Generative
Graffiti
Outsider
Political
Representational
Surreal
Textual

All Artworks
Body
Ceramic
Digital
Drawing
Fiber
Film+Video
Glass
Installation
Mail Art
Mixed Media
Painting
Performance
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
Sound
ow entering its fifth year, Culturehall has published quarterly New Artists Features presenting

the work of four artists. Selected from our seasonal open call for applications, new Culturehall
members are highlighted with each issue. The artists presented for this spring explore universal
and perceived truths through sculpture, appropriated images, still lifes and installations.
From our latest session I am honored to present the work of Culturehall's newest members:
Kirsten Kay Thoen, Jesse Chun, Jerry Birchfield and Phoebe Streblow.

Existing at an intersection of image making and the physical world, Kirsten Kay Thoen
alchemically combines photography with sculpture. Her recent work Crystalline Pendulum
& Crystalline Pyramid present images of glacial ice crystals she captured from an
exploration of Iceland. The black sand of the Jökulsárlón beach dots the enlarged
images of frozen water that become facets of both structures. While seemingly stable,
the ice on view is in a process of changing states from an ancient solid to its
previous fluid form as an ocean. Both forms oscillate between engaging our space
and acting as a lens for viewing what is often overlooked.

Generic, iconic and seemingly ubiquitous, the representations of landscapes and
nature from Jesse Chun's series On Paper ask to be queried regarding their origins.
Each image is carved from the watermarks and safety lines that compose official
documents. And each presents idealized portrayals of places that if ever existed,
could only be found in a time long before the governments that created such visions.
Stripped of the language and symbols of their nations, the images become common. Their
contemporary boundaries and claims dissolved into the interstitial space that is
controlled by the passports and visas from where each can be found.

Jerry Birchfield's recent work Finally It Has Happened to Me Right In Front of My
Face introduces a dark composition seemingly pulled from the passages of time.
Dimensionally large, but visually narrow in depth, the collection of elements on
first examination are seemingly available as a result of excavation. The sense of
discovery attached to individual objects gives way to questions of representation.
While utilizing photographic tools as a medium, each
of the works in the series feels more akin to Man Ray's lensless rayographs. The
identity of each object has been normalized through a seamless physical and digital
patina that offers no beginning or end.

Phoebe Streblow bridges an interest in astrology with the creation of personal
glyphs through her work Trine of Air. Harmonious and stable, a trine is formed at
birth and often falls between planets that share the same element. Her minimalist
]depiction of this formation appears as an icon. Existing
at equilibrium, the work is neither pure object nor image. An equilateral triangle
painted directly onto the wall serves as a base for three circularly framed images
of air and water. Each point advancing itself beyond flat
representation by incorporating a curved dome of glass. What was once a circular
form subtly emerges as a planetary sphere.

David Andrew Frey is a New York-based artist, curator, and technologist. He founded
Culturehall to connect artists with curators and their peers. Recently David launched ArtMgt,
a platform for providing artists with opportunities to create income through the
enjoyment of their work. David earned
an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has also studied
at the Camberwell College of Art in London, the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin, The
University of New Mexico in Albuquerque,
and the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has curated exhibitions in New York
of work by Culturehall artists for Ligne Roset, Cindy Rucker Gallery and the Big Screen Plaza.
About Culturehall

Culturehall is a curated online resource for contemporary art where selected a
rtists can share their work with curators, gallerists, collectors and other artists.
We provide free artist portfolios with an easy to use set of web-based tools to
make presenting art online simple and efficient. Our
community of artists consists primarily of MFA graduates, arts professionals and
teaching artists. Membership is available by invitation or application.