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Abstract
Intrigue
Noyes
Museum, Oceanville, NJ
October
14- November 30, 2008
Abstract
Intrigue celebrates the work of Sochynsky spanning more
than 20 years. The exhibition comprises more than 26
works of oil paintings on canvas in varying levels of
abstraction. To abstract is to generalize, giving the
viewer an opportunity for his or her own interpretation.
In her work Sochynsky displays her clear love of composition,
design and balance, creating abstract illusions where
images offer brief glimpses of reality.
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The
dream-like quality of surrealism combined with the
raw language of
color moves the viewer across the canvas in Ilona Sochynsky’s
finely crafted abstract paintings. Rendered primarily in oils, she combines intense colors
in striking shapes which, above all, suggest visual movement. A strong compositional tension creates the sense of push
and pull where images dance, collide, overshadow and float.
One thinks of a kaleidoscope with bright shards and shapes
spinning and falling into place, creating a magical design.
Sochynsky’s work reflects her strong classical art training,
technical mastery and design background. Her work shares
many common themes and concerns that emerged in the 1970s,
the Photo-Realist movement and the paintings of James Rosenquist.
In her earlier work, Sochynsky used photography and collage
as source materials from which to experiment. She painted
photo-realistic images and densely packed compositions
filled with intense bursts of color juxtaposed with dark
ominous shapes.
In her search
to expand her earlier hyper-realistic work the artist pushed
forward toward more free design where color, pattern, and
composition become dominant characters. Realism moved increasingly
toward abstraction and the mysteriousness of floating forms
and overlapping planes took shape as in The Scream, an
eerie, surrealistic reference to the Edvard Munch painting
from 1893. |
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Moving
to abstraction by unraveling and deconstructing, Ilona
Sochynsky reconstructs images by combining them into
one surface in a kind of collage. Recognizable glimpses,
human or otherwise, captivate the viewer to reveal something
familiar, yet still unknown. Her current work pushes
the boundaries of the canvas in an exploration of spatial
and sculptural possibilities.
Sochynsky’s
Fragments are a series of interrelated paintings at once
non-representational and oddly familiar. By their magnification
they are obscured into abstract forms. While momentarily
recognizable images of the real world they are still
mysteriously uncertain. In reference to her creative
process of fragmentation the artist says, "I am
currently engaged in studying the singular aspect of
what is left over after deconstruction. Can some sense
be made of a fragment? Can it permutate into something
that has meaning for me? I hope the viewer will be sensitive
to the personal imagery which emerges."
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In
her Capriccio series, two of which are presented here,
Sochynsky explores
pushing the confines of the paintings’ edges to explore
three dimensional qualities as if the shapes were about
to explode
from their boundaries. Capriccio in the musical sense can
be defined as an instrumental piece in free form style.
Sochynsky
decidedly moved away from the confines of a rectangular
canvas, by adding a third dimension and altering the
shape of the canvas.
The contours of the fragments within the composition dictate
the outer borders.
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Four
intensely colored paintings titled India Ink are inspired
by the poem of the same name by Ludmyla Taran, 1994.
This series of 12” x 12” interrelated paintings give
visual form to emotion or sensation. Ilona explains,
“In interpreting this poem my art explores the struggle
of the unconscious bubbles of the psyche as it strives
to the surface, seeking to liberate itself from the
constraints of convention and social norms. A recurring
theme is
the stark netting, symbolizing behavioral boundaries
that filter the raw emotions represented by colors
such as the vibrant red in "Passion" and the pale
blue in "Grief". The webbing echoes the belovedly
black "spot of the India Ink" in the poem
that inspired the emotional journey embarked upon in
these
works.” In the Fetish series, also 20” x 20”, the interpretation
shifts to the erotic. These recent works depict the
undulating folds of luxurious fabric, overlaid with
netting suggesting
a casually discarded fishnet stocking. The delicately
rendered repetition of line and recurring patterning
of the webbing references a scenario left for the viewer
to interpret.
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Sochynky’s new
direction is still evolving as her new work explores altering
levels of focus. Exploring the mystery of obscuring reality
and playing with spatial illusion Ilona Sochynsky forges
new boundaries yet to be defined.
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