The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced today that new art exhibitions are on display at Rhode Island's airports. At the GREEN SPACE Gallery at TF Green Airport, an exhibit entitled PORTRAYAL featuring works by Ayumi Ishii, Judd Schiffman and Earle Thurber is on display from January 10 through May 2, 2019. At the Block Island Airport Gallery, works by Dan Lake are on display January 24 through May 30, 2019. The GREEN SPACE Gallery and Block Island Airport Gallery are a partnership between the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, promoting outstanding work by artists living and working in Rhode Island. The galleries present art to an ever-changing audience of local, national and international travelers.
In the GREEN SPACE exhibit PORTRAYAL, the viewer is invited to examine the various ways in which a visual work can tell a story. Works by Ayumi Ishii define personal spaces; ceramic drawings by Judd Schiffman narrate specific literary works; and paintings by Earle Thurber illustrate his visions inspired by music. In all works, the spaces left empty speak volumes equal to those spaces fully described.
Ayumi Ishii's interest in the human body and anxiety of forgetting and being forgotten drive her exploration of visual recording methods that capture skin, body temperature, breath, and other traces of human existence. Ishii notes, "Our cognitive ability of perception allows us to associate the human figure from fragmented information, and my work attempts to fluctuate between objective, quantified information and intangible human-like qualities".
Judd Schiffman's statement reads "An outline indicates a form, but it is not the form itself. This is the basis for my new body of work titled "Outline." The exhibition consists of individual arrangements of high-relief ceramic tiles mounted onto the wall, each of which is surrounded by a ceramic frame. The title is derived from the first book of Rachel Cusk's trilogy".
Earle Thurber's paintings grow from a life-long fascination with art, psychology, and design, and in many ways are an integration of all three areas of interest. The work is constructed of layers of color and form, " free associations" that are subsequently refined through a more conscious design process. Says Thurber "My technique is highly process oriented, a discovery process through which I'm drawn by color associations, relationships of forms that evolve, and a building sense of complexity of visual interaction".
At the Block Island Airport Gallery, Dan Lake Dan Lake is known for his impressionist oil paintings which often feature Rhode Island images. Lake is additionally an accomplished portrait artist and has recently created works for the Support and Defend veterans' exhibit and the traveling Beyond the Diagnosis exhibit to bring awareness of children with rare diseases to the medical community. Lake finds inspiration in the working boats of Rhode Island, a subject matter that uniquely blends his interest in state history and portraiture.
Currently residing in East Greenwich, Lake is an artist member of the Bristol Art Museum, East Greenwich Art Club, Mystic Museum of Art, South County Art Association, Warwick Museum of Art and Wickford Art Association.
2019 Exhibitors for GREEN SPACE were chosen by panelists David Barnes, Jodie Goodnough and Saberah Malik, while exhibitors for the Block Island Airport Gallery were selected by students from Block Island High School's visual arts program. The GREEN SPACE and Block Island Airport Galleries are funded through Rhode Island's Percent for Art law.
About RISCA: The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.
About RIAC: The Rhode Island Airport Corporation operates T.F. Green Airport and the five general aviation airports in Rhode Island. A long-time supporter of public art in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation has worked with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts on a number of public art commissions for T. F. Green and Block Island airports.