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January Issue 2007
I. Pinckney Simons Gallery in Columbia, SC, Features Works by Janet Kozachek and Susan Lenz
A two-person
exhibition entitled, Stones, Bones, and Fibers: Excavating
Civilizations of the Mind, of mixed media works by Janet Kozachek
and Susan Lenz opens Jan. 5, 2007, at the I. Pinckney Simons Gallery
in Columbia, SC. The exhibition features individual and collaborative
art through Jan. 31, 2007.
Collaborations can yield amazing and often serendipitous results. When artists dare to relinquish what two hundred years or so of history has considered sacred, they step across traditional boundaries. By letting go of ego, identity, and property, Kozachek and Lenz have torn down old ways of working and traveled into each other's creative space.
An article in the May 2005 issue of Carolina Arts brought the artists together. The article detailed Kozachek's art and work processes for an exhibition of mosaics and companion oil paintings reminiscent of archaeological sites. The concepts resonated with fiber artist, Susan Lenz. Both artists are intrigued by cultural mystery, fragments of civilization, and their artistic identity within the scope of history. Both artists find a parallel between ancient ruins and the chaos of accumulation in their own studios.
The first collaborations resulted when Lenz's small fiber fragments were positioned on Kozachek's unfinished paintings. The blend of color and texture effectively completed the work. The two artists described their experience as "finding the missing puzzle piece in one another's studio". They had tapped into the Jungian "Collective Unconscious," that morass of signs, symbols and archetypes that lie at the foundations of all civilizations. They also had to relinquish individual artistic control and develop a link to a greater creative unity.
The second collaborations tested their trust in one another's unconscious choices. Kozachek and Lenz challenged each other to create artwork using artifacts salvaged from one another's studios. The results are both startling and amusing. They were taking the Dada practice of "ready made" art even further by using found objects that were found for the artist rather than by the artist.
Ironically, even within the confines of these limitations, the identities of the assembling artists shine through. In addition to their collaborative artwork, Kozachek and Lenz are also displaying individual pieces that explore their joint interests in history, archeology, and cultural remains. The exhibit strives to create a narrative where there was once merely an amalgam of facts.
For further information check our SC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 803/771-8815 or e-mail at
(simonsgallery@aol.com).
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