Lorimoto Gallery is pleased to announce the exhibition (Cut) 3 x (Paste) 3 – exploring three vectors of distinctive stylistic approaches in collage art.
The term “cut & paste” is engrained in our vernacular as a command on the keyboard. Phrases or images are selected , removed and attached onto where ever desired , to convey an idea or an expression.
Collage art is an art form where the essence of “cut & paste” is fully embodied and materialized. Michael Hambouz , Inas Al-soqi and Amanda C Mathis – each artists’ work curated for this show are stylistically diverse , yet all three follow the stoic simplicity of the process. None of the artists are digitally inclined in their work. All three artists rely on their hands to manually cut and compose the imagery required to complete their narrative.
Multimedia artist , Michael Hambouz’s collage work is characterized by compositions of contrasting color silhouettes formulating an image, stylistically reminiscent of collage works by Henri Matisse. Hambouz often identifies with familiar interiors and common objects–such as chairs or bird cages–and their manipulation by unseen forces observed in his dreams and waking life. He layers each form defined by its color and dimension to compose a visual flow. The flow is vibrant and rhythmic, suggesting influence from his musical talent.
Hambouz was recently invited to present a 20-year survey exhibition at his alma mater Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH in 2018 and currently has a solo exhibition titled “Factory Made” at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Inas Al-soqi’s collage technique is impeccable and explicit. Intensely detailed and precise cut outs from a variety of publications are utilized to compose imagery often politically charged and full of ironies and discrepancies of society and human nature. Al-soqi layers her narrative with satire and puns delivering a wry after taste of humor. The artist considers herself as a story teller and her stories are derived from her life experiences in a multi-ethnic / multi – cultural upbringing.
Resembling her life, Al-soqi’s work has been included in exhibitions and collections in numerous galleries and museums world wide.
Amanda C. Mathis is an interdisciplinary artist working in installations, assemblages and photo collages. Mathis’s underlying themes are personal narrative, memory and ideas about dwelling. She explores personal and collective biographies through the ordinary details of domestic architecture. The mystery of her photo collage is that it simultaneously blurs and contrasts the exterior and the interior of mundane, domestic scenery. Mathis uses collages as a method to visualize her concept, piecing together fragments of her memory to convey a facet of her entire visual language.
Amanda C. Mathis has been awarded the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant in 2011 and was a NYFA Arts Fellowship recipient in 2014. She will be showing more of her photo collages in the Project Space at Lesley Heller this summer.
Please join the opening reception of (Cut) 3 x (Paste) 3 on June 8th 6-9pm at Lorimoto Gallery – 1623 Hancock ST. Ridgewood , NY 11385.
