David Hilliard/ Joel Janowitz/ Stephanie Frank Sassoon/ Breon Dunigan
RESCUE - NEW WORK FROM JOEL JANOWITZ
JOEL JANOWITZ exhibits new prints and paintings at the gallery in Provincetown. In this work Joel explores light as a substrate and matrix, so the works and exhibition become a place to consider light as subjective architecture, the gallery as emotional space, and each work as a narrative driver.
The Rescue Series contains images of lifeguards and quarry jumpers evocative of an array of emotional responses and possible narratives. Reminiscent of shipwreck paintings throughout art history we are presented with swimmers in water that may be either subjected to or assisting in troubling situations, conjuring slightly ominous feelings, feelings of hope and joy, and a variety of responses between the two. Janowitz relates these pieces to the threats of climate change and rising sea levels. Likewise, the jumpers can be read as both terrifying and freeing, he notes. They are in free fall and it is up to the viewer to fill out the narrative as a moment of either joy or despair.
Formally and technically Janowitz once again exceeds our expectations. The breathtakingly beautiful works in the show demonstrate his intimate knowledge of his toolbox and mastery of his medium. Every mark, color, corresponding value, gesture, and the succession of application of all not only tell a story but are beautiful non-objective visual experiences on their own. Janowitz creates works that are comprised of two visual systems, pictorial and narrative, real and the felt, and we are allowed/compelled to ‘see’ our way into a space in-between, becoming a part of the somatic and intellectual conversation occurring in each piece and in the entire project. The feeling is that of bewildering and seductive immersion into a world both mysterious and familiar.
Stephanie Sassoon Rescue Oil on Linen 14 x 16"