bright young things

The new work of Sandra Spannan is a series of gilded walnut panels showing images of tree branches and other elements in nature. Chaos in these forms of nature are attractive and beautiful, still when we encounter manmade chaos, we tend to find it disturbing or distractive. All pieces reflect on the constant longing for that natural and endless chaos, especially living and working in New York City. The natural and old materials like precious metals and solid wood enhance the exploration of nature. Spannan's work includes performance art such as participation of Vanessa Beecroft's NYC debut at Deitch Projects; New York Time's celebrated INSIDE/OUT, a window performance installation with artist Laura Barnett which debuted in 2006 at chashama@West 44th Street and traveled to Berlin's Galerie Tristesse. Some of Spannan's solo exhibitions include 20th Century Modern - Brooklyn, NY; Outdoor mural for German House - opposite the United Nations, NYC; Gallery Raum und Form - Nuernberg, Germany. 'Searching for Sense,' is a documentary film about her live paint performance directed by Oscar Nominee Katja Esson which screened in major US film festivals, NYC's Kitchen Gallery and broadcast on Metro Channel & European TV channels. Her work has been featured in The New York Times; The New Yorker; Esquire; Vogue; Architectural Digest; Interior Design; Design Times; Paper; Time Out; Berliner Morgenpost; Die Welt; ALEGRA; Italian Gulliver; Japanese Hanatsubaki. 

 

Gina Fuentes Walker combines translucent materials with small and multiple photographic images to create installations that respond to ambient light and reflect familiar details of her urban and architectural surroundings. This new series of botanical abstractions explores the psychology of space by challenging our perception of what we see and experience. Printed on acetate and mounted on panes of glass, silhouettes of trees and branches create delicate patterns suggesting tributaries or blood vessels just beneath the skin. Informed by an academic background in anthropology and documentary media, her work has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Smithsonian Institution, Chashama and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. She has had solo exhibitions in Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. Her site-specific installations include, Map: Spot on, an illustrated walking tour of commonplace objects and architectural details for the Dumbo Arts Center festival under the bridge 2007. Upcoming projects include a site-specific installation for the Kunst Tage Rhein-Erft in Cologne, Germany and a solo exhibition at The Lost Horse Gallery in Reykjavik, Iceland. Fuentes Walker is also an independent curator and a Co-Founder/Director of artHARLEM.