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PAST Exhibitions & EVENTS
Hovering in the Void: Joel Jannetto and Jesse Ruiz
Opening Reception:
Saturday, August 8, 2015-6-9PM
Show Runs:
August 8 - September 5
Hovering in the Void explores how artists Joel Jannetto and Jesse Ruiz use bold colors and textures in their work to translate the energy of both subject and object. Each artist infuses the characters within their pieces with life by layering materials and allowing the spaces in between to create otherworldly environments.
Joel Jannetto’s paintings are layer upon layer of manic clusters of scribbled lines scattered across flat sections of color or negative space. His subjects are a sum of visible, unblended forms; multitudes formulating depth, alien environments undulating with color, energy and life. Creatures emerge from these abstracted picture planes; the marks and shapes become puzzle pieces forced into forms. The resulting creatures look deformed and disturbing, and the surrounding marks become their living history. Jannetto process reveals to the viewer “the heavy, twisted skeleton behind his work.”
Jesse Ruiz creates her paintings with foam cushions; everyday objects and detritus intermingled with traditional painting materials. Her work opens up a dialogue about the ontology of objects from everyday life. Each piece is a foam-encased outline of a stuffed animal augmented with layers of mixed media. These objects are sneaky and hidden, fast and humorous. Ruiz rejects creating meaning from strict representation, instead she catalogs and materializes “all the meanings and images that have already existed and have already been consumed and destroyed”.
Jannetto is a recent graduate of Winona State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, focusing in painting. Joel recently had a solo exhibition at Rochester Contemporary Art Center. This will be his first exhibition in Minneapolis.
Ruiz graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison this year where she received her MFA. Before that she received a BA from Barnard College-Columbia University with an emphasis in philosophy. She has received several distinctions for her work including the AAF/Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts and a residency at Inside-Out Artist Colony in Beijing. This will be her first exhibition in Minneapolis.
