Jennifer Printz: Meditations on time, space and the sublime in Little River
Infinite and Transient, an exhibition of new works by Jennifer Printz, is currently on view at the Corridor Gallery at Dimensions Variable, a multifarious arts organization in Miami’s Little River. Printz gives us eight works which address sculptural concerns such as space and gravity, with pieces that hover between the two dimensional and the three.
Her work stems from an exploration of materials and, as consummate print maker, she is accustomed to responding to the needs of the medium. In her artwork she expands upon the customary materials and techniques, stretching, pushing, straining their limits. InInfinite and Transient, Printz chose fabrics with varied nuances. Her silk piece droops,vacillating between comedy and tragedy, an elegant fraying along the bottom. The cotton hovers in space, with printed images of the sky. In her two small works she juxtaposes the near abstraction of the sky with the man-made grid and stripe patterns,each strengthening the gap between geometric abstraction and organic abstraction.
Printz is very conscious of the distinction between what comes from nature and that which comes from the mind of mankind. She specifically chose materials which have spent time growing on the earth and enters the subtle dialogue which contains an inherent history about the origins of the wood, silk or cotton. This is the kind of “heritage” and anthropomorphism of materials artists enjoy.
The artist’s choice of making each of the works in a circular format speaks to her understanding of the essential structures which make up all things. Her work is a bridge between quantum physics and abstract art, surprisingly close to each other in describing an unseen place. Molecules, cells, atoms, planets all take a circular shape and repeat endlessly, the under laying architecture of the universe. Her circles bring us a porthole to the sky, not unlike James Turrell’s “Skyspace” works. However, here the space is coming out into our realm as the fabric gently protrudes from the wooden frames, as if blown by a soft wind.
There is an element of Printz’s process connected to her childhood: experience learning to sew with her great aunt. Stitching is a meditative process for Printz, which connects theworks to contemplative practices. Each of the fabrics are sewn to the wood panel, a care invisible to the viewer but which one can intuit in the quality and integrity of the work. The round wood frames recall stitching rings, which was the initial jumping off place of this journey.
Her work has an Agnes Martin-like gentle asceticism, a paring down. By discarding the chatter of the mind and imagery, she offers a new experience. There is a stillness which can only be found in nature.
Agnes Martin wrote the following poem which relates to Printz’s artwork:The adventurous state of / mind is a high house // To enjoy life the adventurous / state of mind must be / grasped and maintained // The essential feature of adventure is that it is a /going forward into / unknown territory // The joy of adventure is unaccountable // This is the attractiveness of / artwork. It is adventurous, / strenuous and joyful.
In all these works there is but one punctuation mark, a tiny bird silhouetted in the sky, and suddenly we are reminded these are not purely abstract works. The real abstraction comes in the physical gestures of the folds. They inhabit our space, come out of the wallto bring us into the folds, to envelope or embrace.
If you go:
WHAT: Jennifer D. Printz: Infinite and Transient at Corridor Gallery
WHERE: Dimensions Variable, 101 NW 79th Street, 33150
WHEN: 1 PM – 5 PM Friday and Saturday, and by appointment
COST: FREE
INFORMATION: DimensionsVariable.net
