...And Now, Your Moment of Zen - The Art of Ian Strawn October 6, 2007

CARMICHAEL GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ART PRESENTS

“And now, your moment of Zen”

A SOLO EXHIBITION BY IAN STRAWN

OPENING OCTOBER 6th

Ian Strawn
With a phenomenally creative painter for a mother, and a set designing, iron sculpting, jack and/or master of all trades for a father, I was well encouraged in my artistic inclinations right from the start. My earliest days were spent with the crayon, forming round multi-colored bodies on the page whose line limbs spiked their way from its center. Since giving up the crayon, every form of mark-making that I've taken on has expressed that same subject. People have always been my creative focus.
In between creative pursuits, I managed to survive and graduate from BYU's visual arts program and get myself hitched in the process. My greatest creative achievement has been that of my daughter, newly born and splendidly fabulous. The three of us are soon to set up shop in the Pacific Northwest, and become happily drenched in the copious rainfall.

My work has been shown in galleries in LA, Denver, Salt Lake City Area, Springville Museum of Art, and currently adorns the walls of the Switzer Center in Los Angeles California in mural form.

Why it is I do what I do…
I am a people watcher. I revel in catching momentary glimpses of old men behind me in the checkout line, or catch sight of the girl with the rather striking eyebrows on the other side of the bookstore. Somewhere in the clockwork of my soul there is a drive to know something of the people around me. Not to talk to them, or approach them, or learn any concrete fact about them, but to read their faces, to catalog them, to glean what I can from the short moment that I can steal a glance.

Recently, my work has mirrored this same passion. In it, I am describing people as if at that glance. The scene is not wholly realized. Settings, clothes, and objects are often abridged or discarded. But what remains is that which satiates my desire to know them. Something is there that speaks to me of who they are, what they want, and what their relationship is to me. It is what is left when nothing more is wanted.

Paradoxically, in creating a still image of the glance, I am denying its momentary nature. Time is introduced, allowing a deeper look, a longer look, a look well beyond the confines of a glance. Yet the information is still limited to bare bones essentials, and the experience sits somewhere between glance and perusal.

How it is I do what I do…
I find my characters in communities in which I live and visit, they are real people. I meet them in streets and parks, and photograph them. The painting does not include that photograph, but is an image entirely created by paint, with the help at times of ink or acrylic. All of my pieces are painted on a birch wood panel with pine back supports, and a gesso ground. They are not framed, as I find frames unnecessary and distracting. Instead I wrap the paint around the edges, giving it a depth when hung. I believe that signatures often throw paintings off balance, or bring too much attention to themselves. Therefore my signature, a dotted S, is hidden within each painting.
Opening Reception:
Saturday, October 6th, 2007
From 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
RSVP to [email protected]

Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
1257 N. La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90038
(SW corner of La Brea and Fountain)

Show closes October 18th.

The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday 2PM - 7PM and by appointment.
Visit www.carmichaelgallery.com, contact [email protected] or call 323.969.0600 for more information.

Official Website: http://www.carmichaelgallery.com