Archive for June, 2009

It is a great pleasure for me to be able to bring together the work of two of my favorite contemporary artists: Joroko, active in Denver; and Burnell Yow!, working in Philadelphia. Though separated by distance, they share a common artistic process, employing found objects and listening to their subconscious voices to create thought-provoking works of intuitive bricolage. Without any preparatory sketches or preconceived compositional plans, their serendipitous materials and innermost feelings lead them to the evocative mixed-media creations they offer to us here today.

This exhibition is intentionally disturbing and challenging. It references such significant art movements of the 20^th-century as Surrealism, Dada, and Pop, while being completely relevant to our current troubled times. Reminiscences of Robert Rauschenberg’s combine paintings take on new meaning in Joroko’s burnt and battle-scarred canvases; nightmarish imagery haunts us in Yow!’s digital prints and deformed doll assemblages. Both artists present us with jarring scenarios of a mysterious history of cultural detritus, the present mayhem of the world and of our minds, and excavations into a future that we hope never happens—what is and what never should be. This intuitive twin vision shocks us into the reality that we hold the power to stop the apocalypse depicted in these works. To apply the lyrics of Lou Reed to the trash-filled treasures of Joroko and Yow!, “Do they see beauty in ugliness, or are they just playing in the dirt?” The meaning is there for the viewers, and for the artists, to uncover.

Dr. Debra Miller, Curator