Paper collage, 9.75" x 12.75"
Rita LaValle approaches her rich, textural collages like abstract paintings. Her work is a careful, but spontaneous balance of color, texture and sparse subject matter layered into compositions that feel both formalist and lyrical. With the use of little discernible imagery, she creates intimate narratives that evoke curiosity and the feeling of warmth. Ripped edges and otherwise discardable scraps are woven into elaborate tapestries of tonality that often guide the eye toward a central, enigmatic story.
John Whitlock, Guest Curator
Paper collage, 9.5" x 12.5 "
In my start at analog collage-making, cutting was not the principal act in the practice. The bringing home of found objects, found papers and ideas from the day’s walk about town was the impetus for creation. Art was accessible and fine.
Paper collage, 9.75" x 12.75"
There were many hours spent at the neighborhood photocopy shops upon completion of work. Long before the fancy smart phone, the duplicate image of a collage gave way to new possibilities.
Paper collage, 8.5" x 12"
Paper collage, 8.5" x 11"
The 1980’s in NYC was the time of Basquiat and Philip Pearlstein, Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, James Rosenquist, Rauschenberg… This was my material. These were my tools. This is what is instilled in my perception of art to date.
Paper collage, 9" x 11"
My inclination towards collage-making is the relationship between the adeptness of my hands, and the effectivity of my sensibility for color, structure and form. I know when the work is satisfactory, not because it got “likes” on Instagram. My work is satisfactory when I know I like it.
Collage on vintage book cover, 8" x 12"
Rita LaValle is currently based in Maui, Hawaii.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Julie Boserup has made collage her point of artistic departure in her exploration of space and architecture. She creates complex universes with multiple dimensions and perspectives that break down spaces and buildings to arrange and construct them anew. Boserup has forged her very own practice that moves in the intersection between photography, collage, drawing and archival images. Her collages unfold in multiple layers creating a sense of ever-changing spatiality.
Jeroen Erosie's practice originates from the fluidity and restless process of graffiti lettering. This discipline — where lines, letters and shapes evolve gradually and almost imperceptibly towards unpredictable results — has been such at the core of his production it leaves a unique mark on all of his practice. His canvases, drawings and collages appear like a paused instant in a restless dynamic, a continuous morphing and superimposition of shapes, lines and textures.
Ruth van Beek’s work originates in her ever-growing archive. The images, mainly from old photo books, are her tools, source material and context. Van Beek physically intervenes within the pictures. By folding, cutting, or adding pieces of painted paper, she rearranges and manipulates the image until her interventions reveal the universe that lay within them. Merely by suggestion, van Beek triggers the imagination, and therefore the discomfort, of the viewer: passive human hands are animated, objects turn into characters, and abstract shapes come to life.
Creating collages can be like putting together a puzzle. Anthony Gerace makes this aspect a central motif of his collage work. In his There Must Be More To Life Than This series Gerace transforms found images of flowers or glamorous portraits into squares, reconfiguring them into new, tiled compositions. Other pieces contrast photographs with cut and torn pieces of coloured paper, which he layers, both obscuring and revealing elements at the same time.
Stefano Contiero is a generative artist living in Italy and Germany. A significant role in his inspiration is his mixed cultural heritage. His father is Italian, and his mother is Dominican. Stefano believes that his emotions and feelings play a significant role in his artistic expression. They control him, and he has no control or clue about his emotions until the work is done. He is their hand and their brush.
Out and About
What to watch, read, and experience, as curated by the Collé team.
READ
My Life As A Man by Carmen Winant
My Life as a Man depicts a single collage deconstructing and rearranging its composition. Resolution is sought but never “found.” View the PDF here.
WATCH
Skinshape - I Didn't Know
Skinshape is the studio project of British musician and producer Will Dorey. Skinshape grew out of a love for old music and the way it sounded.
Video directed by Kendra Morris.
LISTEN
Flower Shower by Monster Rally
Ohio-bred musician and artist Ted Feighan produces sample collages drawing from lounge and tropicalia as well as hip-hop, bringing to mind the Avalanches, People Like Us, or Madlib on an exotica bender. His releases are typically adorned with collage artwork as colorful and surrealist as the music.
