4 Now
Gilles Giuntini, Anahita Mekanik, Edmond Praybe, Carolyn Sheehan
December 1–19, 2015
clockwise from left: Carolyn Sheehan, Untitled, 2014, mixed media on paper, 48 x 32 inches
Gilles Giuntini, The Modesty of Claretta Petacci, 2014, mixed materials, 34 x 38 x 24 inches
Anahita Mekanik, Deliverance, 2013, mixed media, 60 x 18 x 18 inches
Edmond Praybe, Evening Light, 2015, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 5, 3-5 pm
FIRST STREET GALLERY caps off the year with 4 Now, an exciting new exhibition that celebrates the unique and dynamic visions of four of its newest artists, Gilles Giuntini, Anahita Mekanik, Edmond Praybe, and Carolyn Sheehan.
Gilles Giuntini fabricates complex intimate narratives that reference both historical and personal events. These carefully crafted pieces are at once seductive but beyond reach. The viewer is drawn in, but kept at a distance. This physical tension is at the core of each piece. Through irony and humor Giuntini weaves disparate scenarios into something familiar …a world of paradox and hypocrisy.
Anahita Mekanik is a story-teller who speaks through the random objects that find their way into her life. The more damaged, old and ordinary these are, the more potent are the memory and message they carry. By giving a new soul to these abandoned treasures, she participates in the universal ritual of transformation.
Edmond Praybe makes paintings that attempt to reevaluate perceptions of the environment he inhabits while celebrating the union of observation, invention, and memory. The works are literal explorations- made on-site or at least partially so- as well as artist explorations, dealing with a variety of attitudes concerning color, structure, scale, and narrative. Edmond searches for broadly identifiable themes and feelings in the image, while also depicting a specific sense of time and place in each piece.
Carolyn Sheehan creates art works that are best described by color and images. She combines creativity and imagination with emotions in every piece with the sole purpose of not only creating an aesthetic that impacts the feelings but causes pleasure as well. Every piece is worked like a sculpture: three dimensional and take shape in a style in which the icon is always the focal point.
