New York City.- The First Street Gallery is pleased to present “Margaret Noel: Second Shift”, an exhibition of recent works by this Brooklyn artist and recipient of the Gallery’s 2011 National Juried Show Award. “Second Shift” will be on view at the gallery from January 10th through January 28th 2012. The densely layered surfaces of Noel’s compositions document the varied American landscape, seen here in rolling expanses and spaces fractured by industry. Beginning with observational drawings done on site, the pieces fuse traditional techniques with new media: combining silverpoint with ink, collage with encaustic.
Viewed as a series, the repeated forms echo the abstraction of memory– as each image evolves from drawing to collage to painting, the resulting distortions parallel the blur and shift of memory over time. The depicted structures are empty factories that have lost much of their relevance to the communities around them, but continue to dot the post-industrial American landscape. Similarly, pentimenti – obscuredbut visible traces of the history of the painting process– remain etched into the surface of the wax. Both the pentimenti and the abandoned structures are metaphors for the act of painting itself, often considered obsolete in the landscape of contemporary art, but still tenacious, compelling, and influential. Noel currently divides her time between her studio in Brooklyn and her position as Assistant Professor of Fine Art at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.
An artist-run gallery, First Street’s dual mission is to exhibit and promote the work of talented artists and to provide the public with an opportunity to see and learn about contemporary art in a more accessible milieu than that offered by commercial galleries. The gallery remains focused on the presentation of art in the figurative tradition but embraces a wide diversity of styles, media, and interpretations of ‘figuration’. First Street Gallery gives artists exhibition opportunities (solo shows every 2-2 1/2 years/group shows every year), exposure on the gallery’s website and in the gallery’s presentation books of members’ work. In addition, First Street Gallery provides a wealth of ongoing professional services to its members which are virtually unmatched by other non-commercial galleries. First Street Gallery takes no commission on artwork sold in the gallery. Contact the gallery for information pertaining to dues and other fees. Each season, the gallery reviews work of membership applicants at monthly member meetings, September – June. In addition to services for its members, First Street Gallery provides opportunities for non-member artists to exhibit, through annual Juried Shows and Invitational exhibitions (for information on these programs, contact the gallery); presents special exhibitions to engage local residents who in the past may have had little exposure to the arts community; and presents Artist Talks to enhance the art-viewing experience for art students and other members of the public. Visit the gallery’s website at … http://www.firststreetgallery.net