Eye-popping abstracts of ‘Seeking Joy’ depart interpretation up to creativity
3 min read
Karen Snouffer’s paintings and wall sculptures in “Seeking Joy” are energetic, vibrantly colorful and without exception, abstract.
The title of her exhibit at the Ohio State University College Club refers to her system and its end result — and the response, she hopes, of viewers.
“Because of what we have all been suffering from these very last couple years — socially, politically, medically — I feel trying to get joy is what I’ve been undertaking in using so considerably color and motion,” Snouffer reported. “Am I creating joyful objects or is the pleasure in the system? The joy is also up to the viewer.”
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The frequent denominators of the 30-some functions in the show are the use of architectural visuals and an abundance of contrasting and complementary colours. Snouffer, a Gambier resident and professor emeritus at Kenyon Higher education, explained she is often influenced by buildings and sights from places she has been to at household and overseas.
She developed “Scaffold,” for occasion, soon after a excursion to Rome where setting up assignments involving scaffolding seemed to be everywhere you go. The acrylic portray, also designed with stickers, glue and ink, offers clusters of exuberant thrives in orange, black and yellow — as nicely as a scaffold-like image.
The large “Apostrophe,” (72 by 42 inches) presents an animated apostrophe condition towards an orange subject in the leading left part of the canvas.
A lesser painting, “Red Boat,” shows what may possibly or may not be the red vessel as the central determine surrounded by block-like shapes in a wide range of colours.
Snouffer, 75, who taught portray and drawing and has worked in figurative art, mentioned she is fully commited now to abstraction, a style she finds much more creatively demanding and absolutely free.
She cites neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel’s theories involving the viewing of summary artwork vs . figurative works. With figurative artwork, visuals draw the viewer’s memory to individuals, spots or factors he or she can remember. With abstract art, the viewer is compelled to attract on their imagination to decide what the artwork usually means.
“I really like that unique persons see diverse things in my do the job, and I love that often they spend time with a portray,” Snouffer explained.
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Snouffer also obviously enjoys the components of her function. In “Totter” and “Duck Beneath,” she employs wisps of lower paper in black, yellow and gray — and often even black glitter — to style movement-crammed wall hangings. Yellow, she claimed, “can be a joyful coloration or it can reveal caution and concern — and it performs artistically with black and gray.”
Lots of much more materials are identified in the wall sculpture “Push Out,” a black-and-white relief stuffed with lacy paper, black fuzz, a black-and-white checkerboard and even replicas of cicada wings.
As always, Snouffer invitations her viewers to discern which means in her works. She has studied and explored the chaos idea and enjoys the notion of and introducing contradictory themes in her operate. She is relentlessly curious and experimental with supplies and themes, all of which lead to the delight she finds in making art.
As a septuagenarian, she suggests, “I program to be doing this for another 20 years.”
“Trying to get Pleasure” is a worthwhile intention for the artist and those who look into her operate.
At a glance
“Seeking Joy: Karen Snouffer” proceeds via Feb. 18 at the Ohio Point out College School Club, 181 S. Oval Generate. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Masks are required. For facts, phone Lisa Craig Morton at 614-309-0191 or check out www.ohio-statefacultyclub.com.
This post originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Karen Snouffer exhibiting summary artwork at Ohio Condition Faculty Club
