SEEING YOU
Over the weekend in a place that’s infamous in Brooklyn, aka Bushwick here in New York City, Debbie Dickinson blossomed her art gallery at the Milk Factory. It is called “Reflection”, opening up the talent of Debbie’s impressive roster of artists whose creativity is untapped. You must not just see “Reflection” as a look back at the work you’ve done, but a gateway into where the future will lead you. Debbie Dickinson sets course for a lineup of true artists who reflect on their work who are Bill Buchman, Chris Larson, Anthony Haden-Guest, Evan Sebastian Lagache, Seth Howe, Alayna Coverly, Mary Reid, and Rick Secen.
BILL BUCHMAN
An extremely raw portrait of where we’ve been is to see yourself without any filters or barriers, that’s where the “Male Nude” comes in. Bill Buchman who’s known for his musical notes as artistic inspiration takes a bold direction to undress a man. It’s acrylics and crayon on paper that gives you a full frontal look of the initial stages of your life, or more simply the start of your day. You want to take that moment in the morning where you first wake up before adrenaline rushes in, and carve out excitement the possibilities offer.
CHRIS LARSON
To say that you’re getting in touch with the environment is too cliche at this point, you need a deeper reason to touch into the earth. Chris Larson takes acrylics on canvas to present a dancing display of colors that include “Green Lady”, “Gucci Cat”, and “The Letter K”. Each portrait certainly does justice for the public by giving off a strong representation of their titles, while liberally taking color in many directions. Milk Factory’s plant display blended in with Chris’s work put a definitive line on taking chances to extend future creativity.
ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST
Words have never been a more artful display of what the artist is feeling, and it extends far out into the population. Anthony Haden-Guest uses his words to put the world on notice about where we stand as a human species. Unintelligent life exists at every corner of our universe, but no one like Anthony directly states it with cartoon and word-perfect fashion. What’s even more baffling is that fact that human smarts actually exist, and it’s very easy to find a destructive character… just by being cheerful.
EVAN SEBASTIAN LAGACHE
The wonderful thing about acrylics is you can take a hard canvas and recreate marble without having to mine a single bed of limestone. Evan Sebastian Lagache creates smile shape canvas pieces that are made to look like marble, but it’s the mastery of the work that takes precedence in Evan’s work. Evan stretches even further with “City Of Ashes”, “Simpatico”, and “Sailor Moon” who stretches Evan’s acrylic talent to more depth. It’s a step into a moment of displaying depth where it isn’t just about random chaos, it’s also about capturing chaos and peace.
SETH HOWE
We take our work of art from off the paper, and onto metal, to construct The STACK series by Seth Howe. The STACK series are minimalist constructions comprised of alternating pieces of aluminum with a mirror polish interior surface. The resulting form is rudimentary in its construction, yet suggests complex relationships with the viewer and the occupied space. Its simple geometry and reflective quality invites the viewer to move about it, highlighting perceptual experience, and revealing an ever-changing composition of shapes, light, and form.
ALAYNA COVERLY
Oil on canvas mounted on cradled panel can lead to tremendous 3D possibilities, allowing for a simple layout of color in light to dark shades. Welcome to Alayna Coverly, who uses “Reflect”, “Emergent”, and “Indefinite” to lay out monochrome for a truly conveyed message. “Reflect” on purple puts one in a mummified stage to see where they’ve been with their life, and what led them to be now shielded from the world. “Emergent” at just one glance builds on “Reflect” to follow up by leaving the blinders behind and moving forward. And “Indefinite” puts you in a resting state, a person in a semi-dark hue of blue with black behind him to lay in green-striped sheets, not knowing when he’ll wake up.
MARY REID
You cannot say more about this artist, Mary Reid, who already propels women to quietly reflect on the powerful selves that they could be. Through justice, poetry, and science, women are without a doubt a powerful force in the world, dismissing the notion that they are powerless. Take one look at all 4 paintings of Mary Reid you see here, and you witness the extraordinary journey women have traveled to achieve equal footing today. Mary Reid also jumps into the man’s realm with “Man In Pink”, a high regard of man reaching out to their feminine side.
RICK SECEN
You can’t possibly sit without internal emotions running through your body about a time where you sit outside, and look back and forward. Rick Secen uses his oils and acrylics to sit figures outside in distant places so individuals see near and far the past and the future. Traditional reflection are what’s at play here with works such as “Distant Bridge”, “Sitting Violinist”, and “Beauty & Essex”. A lovely blue sky or an embolden empty room where you are at peace for one, but also see where else you can go in your life.
CONCLUSION
Debbie Dickinson and an extraordinary lineup of painters who push the brink take “Reflection” to new levels of artistry we never knew was possible. The most optimistic part about reflection is seeing what you’ve done for one, but given the golden opportunity of hyperactively seeing what’s next. The wonderful wrap up to this reflection is taking on the task of living the next chapter, or even the next book of what life is. The greatest part about “Reflection” is taking those jeweled memories from your life, and passing it down to your children so they can create their own valued moments to one day reflect on.
And from “Reflection” artist, Bill Buchman, “The saddest thing would be, in light of this great burst of positivity is to just sit back, reliving the memories of these moments, and not take steps to even greater heights, but I’m sure that won’t be the case here.”
A very special thank you to Chris Larson, and Co-Curatorial, Jeffrey Zakrzewski for installation and selection, and hosting the Reflection Exhibition.