Out of the Ordinary

 

 OUT OF THE ORDINARY features four artists who depict ordinary objects in extraordinary ways - sculptural metal works by Corrina Sephora and paintings by Guy Robinson, Jordan Baker and Jim Wise. Under the adage "the whole is more than the sum of its parts," the viewer is asked how we perceive visuals in connection with different objects and environments. The artists juxtapose Gestalt theories of perception including proximity, similarity, figure-ground, continuity, closure and connection.  The show is a visual admonition to savor the beauty in all that is around you - “Stop and SEE the roses!” There will be a two day Opening Reception on Friday, July 23, 12 - 7 p.m. & Saturday, July 24, 12 - 4 p.m.!
 Corrina Sephora  Corrina Sephora is a multi-media Atlanta-based artist specializing in metal sculpture, painting, and public installations. Her use of repetitive symbolic images—trees, ladders, boats, oars, nautical and celestial images— references the natural world as an attempt to bring order while embracing the chaotic.  Her surroundings and experiences influence her materials and process. Her grandfather was a sea captain, and she grew up in an environment with boats, houses, gardens, sweat lodges, and communities built in rural New England, Maine and New Hampshire. While raised in a bohemian nonconformist environment, she was encouraged to set her sights on nonconventional waters as a woman, a maker, a sculptor, and an artist. Her intention is for viewers to explore themselves in her works. For Corrina, creating work is a meditative process. The repetition allows for a rhythmic and mind-opening experience, which is where she believes the magic occurs. Corrina holds a BFA in Metals and Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, and an MFA in Sculpture from Georgia State University. She has completed multiple residencies throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Guy Robinson Atlanta-based artist, Guy Robinson, creates complex and nuanced contemporary Surrealist paintings. He believes that art has the ability to express the otherwise inexpressible. “Art gives us a way to explore this inexplicable life’s sorrows and losses; its abundance and joy. It is sleight of hand, but real magic also,” he says. “The deepest art represents a longing for answers we cannot have - but with work and patience might glimpse.” Guy attended the Atlanta College Of Art on a Ford Foundation grant and has worked extensively in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing. Robinson has over thirty-five years experience teaching drawing and painting for Emory University's continuing education program. Jordan Baker Hudson Valley-based artist, Jordan Baker creates paintings, sculptures and conceptual works. For OUT OF THE ORDINARY, Jordan created a group of works that represent her meditation on traditional still life painting, and finding dynamism in stillness and nuance in simplicity. “Sometimes we are told to not get lost in the details or get tunnel vision, but in this case, I allowed myself to do just that, exploring the interior world of these items,” she says of this series. The three paintings from the Too Much Is Never Enough grouping is an exploration on the concept of taste and the wavering line between excess and abundance.  Instead of offering a tasteful amount of different items (two plums, a half a loaf of bread, a single glass of wine, etc.), she has composed a still life with a classically distasteful amount of a single item in order to explore the subjective nature of “good” taste. Jordan attended Tufts University, has a BFA in Art History from Syracuse University, and an MFA in Mixed Media from SUNY Albany.  Jim Wise Based in Atlanta, Jim Wise’s large-scale and meticulous paintings present familiar items in unexpected and often striking ways, sparking a viewing experience that is at once familiar and mysterious. He uses both Photoshop and oil paint to create his works, enjoying the nuances each has to offer. “Photoshop is crisp and efficient, while oil paint is luscious, buttery and messy,” he says.  He says he paints boldly because he wants your attention. In his youth, Pop Art and Minimalism emerged as rejections of the exhausted Abstract Expressionist movement. Those two aesthetics have remained with him and have emerged over and over in his graphic design work. Now that he has pivoted to painting full time, he sees the POW of Pop and the cool reserve of Minimalism bubbling up again. Jim attended the North Carolina Governor’s School in Art, and graduated from the Design College at North Carolina State University. After a long career as a graphic designer, producing award-winning design work for major corporations and institutions throughout the country, Jim has finally – and happily – turned to painting full time.