Abstract painter and curator Vince Contarino moderates a panel with Handmade Abstract artists Katie Bell, Christian Maychack, and Liz Nielsen. Join us for a conversation on themes and topics generated from our current exhibition and learn how these artists are bringing new relevance to the genre of abstract art.
This public program is presented in conjunction with the Handmade Abstract exhibition, currently on view at BRIC House through Dec 25.
Vince Contarino is a Brooklyn-based artist and curator, whose work explores abstraction with a sensitivity to painting’s esoteric tendencies as an art form. He received his BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. Recent exhibition venues include Morgan Lehman Gallery, BRIC, Mixed Greens, TSA, NY; Laroche/Joncas, Montreal; Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA; and The Essl Museum, Vienna. In 2010 he was an artist-in-residence at The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program and in 2012, received a Painting Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Contarino was recently featured in “Golden Age: Perspectives on abstract painting today”, published by NUTUREart and serves on NYFA’s Artist’s Advisory Board for Painting. He has organized numerous exhibitions as co-founder of the artist-run curatorial initiative, Progress Report and is currently a partner and co-director of Present Company, a Brooklyn-based exhibition and social space.
Katie Bell, a painter, sculptor, and installation artist, uses found materials to create compositions that energetically respond to the spaces they inhabit. Bell received her BA from Knox College, Galesburg, IL; and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. Bell will have a solo exhibition at Locust Projects, Miami, in 2016. Her previous solo exhibitions include those at Mixed Greens, NY, and at the John C. Hutcheson Gallery, Lipscomb University, Nashville. Her work has been included in group shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; BRIC; the Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL; and the Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London. Bell received a 2015 Painting Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, NY.
Christian Maychack’s current work lies in the liminal space between two-dimensional painting and three-dimensional sculpture. Christian Maychack received his BFA from Ohio University, Athens, OH; and his MFA from San Francisco State University. He has had solo exhibitions at Jeff Bailey Gallery, NY; Gregory Lind Gallery, San Francisco; and Sirius Art Center, Cobh, Ireland. Among others, Maychack’s work has been included in group shows at Peter Fingesten Gallery at Pace University, NY; the California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; and Grimm Rosenfeld Gallery, Munich. Maychack’s recent residencies include the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, Brooklyn, NY; Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; and the La Napoule Art Foundation, La Napoule, France. In 2012 Maychack became a fellow in Painting from the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Liz Nielsen describes herself not as a photographer, but as a photographic artist. Her process of color darkroom printing from handmade negatives results in a collection of uniquely composed prints that explode the boundaries of photography and its connotations of pure mimesis and reproducible multiples. Nielsen has had solo shows at Laurence Miller Gallery, NY; Denny Gallery, NY; Benrimon Contemporary, NY; and Schalter Gallery, Berlin. She has also been included in group exhibitions at Danziger Gallery, Spring Break Art Fair, and David Zwirner Gallery, all NY; and at the Material Art Fair, Mexico City. Nielsen received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is represented by Denny Gallery, NY; Danziger Gallery, NY; and SOCO Gallery, Charlotte, NC.
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Handmade Abstract
Venue Information:
The Stoop at BRIC House is a public cultural gathering space featuring free, drop-in programming, and offering a place to sit, observe, and participate in multi-disciplinary work.
Beginning Nov. 1, 2022, attendees of any BRIC House programming will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the building. Masks are encouraged but not required in all BRIC operated spaces. If you have questions regarding this protocol, please email Safety@bricartsmedia.org