Drawn Together by Line
Drawn Together by Line presents works on paper by three Bay Area artists affiliated with Kala Art Institute. Combining elements of collage and painting, mark-making and language, each of these artists create works where the hand of the artist is strongly present. Ranging from the light and lyrical to the vibrantly colorful and expressive, Drawn Together by Line joins three artists working at the intersection of drawing, painting and printmaking, with exciting results.
Belgian-born artist Nora Pauwels creates large-scale works on paper that mesh slightly obsessive handwriting with drawings that often reference the body. Working with a simple pen, Nora’s drawings involve no sketching or erasing, only a precise and delicate line of ink. Figures float in a swirl of lines that trailing off into the distance, while the writing suggests a grounding of the body through activity. The intimate and repetitive action of the hand involved in Nora Pauwels’ work suggests that both writing and drawing are yet another way to keep time.
German-born artist Ann Stoehr uses drawing as her primary means of artistic expression.
Working in a manner that is somewhat similar to Pauwels, Ann Stoehr also embraces the immediacy of the drawing process. As if each mark on a sheet of paper was a word that has been spoken, and once spoken can’t be taken back, she makes no corrections to a mark once it has been made. Elegant and delicate, yet playfully whimsical, Ann Stoehr’s works on paper create a visual parallel between drawing and philosophical reflections on life’s random moments of spontaneity.
Livia Stein’s work also reflects the love of marks and images made by hand, yet with a different approach. Working in a combination of paint, pencil, ink and chalk on paper and canvas, Livia Stein’s works explode with colorful vibrancy and expressiveness. Combining subject matter and inspirations that range from literature and music to architecture and political concerns, Livia’s work functions as a large-scale visual diary that reflects both the playful and the somber sides of life lived day by day.
Please join Nora Pauwels, Ann Stoehr and Livia Stein for a Gallery Talk with the Artists on Saturday, May 6 at 2:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public.