“”Sing to us again an aesthetic that we love”” are the words inscribed on Ciel Bergman’s painting “”Antidote #2.””
The paintings in the new University Art Gallery exhibit, “”Representing Landscape,”” give the old song a fresh and dynamic new rhythm. The artists on exhibit include Bergman, Jacci Den Hartog, Marcelo Pombo, Darren Waterston, Leigh Li-Yun Wen and Yek.
What gives the exhibit its unique flavor is the eclecticism of the approaches to landscape employed by the artists.
Wen and Bergman were present at the exhibit’s opening on Oct. 24.
Wen’s piece, “”Water Mural VII,”” the largest piece on display, is particularly impressive for its composition and stature.
As a Taiwanese immigrant, Wen paints the four Western elements: earth, air, fire and water (in Eastern culture there are five elements), partially as a means of coping with the collision and mingling of “”philosophies of [her] homeland self-discipline and selflessness, and the Western notions of ego, alienation and desire.””
She considers her paintings deeply personal, saying that, “”Painting is a form of meditation. The technique is only a vehicle for the mentality.””
Bergman is intensely passionate about the health of the Earth’s ecosystem, a love that finds full fruition in her art.
“”The sky is changing,”” she said during Oct. 29’s exhibit walk-through. “”You can hardly see the sky for the jet fuel.””
It is because of her love for the sky that Bergman, originally named Cheryl, changed her name to “”Ciel”” — the French word for sky.
Waterston’s works are described by the gallery as “”meditations on fertility that lure us into a mystical world of exoticism and erotic sensuality.”” His works are painted on wooden panels in the “”old master”” style, reminiscent of a Chinese dream world full of blood and butterflies.
Pombo is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and paints in geometric shapes, using deep contrasts and bright color. In his painting, “”Figura Con Luna,”” the moon is almost blinding in its mesmerizing, almost radioactive vibrance.
Hartog struggles to capture “”the fluidity of the sky … the stability of the mountains with manufactured materials that nevertheless behave in ways reminiscent of nature’s materials.”” Her 3-D approach to landscape preserves the flowing lines and aesthetic inexactness of the Chinese masters she imitates, and yet allows a previously flat and detached environment to finally come to life.
Yek’s work is heavily modern and abstract, but is said to be reminiscent of a portal-like structure.
He states that he wants his paintings to “”have magic so that romance can happen, so that people will feel good.””
The exhibit is nothing short of breathtaking — art as it should be, a journey, feeding the hunger of the mind, giving serenity to the body. “”Representing Landscape”” will be on display untill Dec. 26. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.