“Dimensions” Opens At Gualala Arts July 8 Two Woman Show Features Loraine Toth And Jane Casner Mothersill
“Dimensions”, a two woman show featuring sculptures by Loraine Toth and paintings by Jane Casner Mothersill, opens with a reception in the Burnett Gallery at Gualala Arts on Friday, July 8, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
The exhibit was conceived by the artists as a means of showcasing the interaction between imagery and meaning in their respective works. While “Dimensions,” obviously, speaks to the inclusion of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, it also finds expression as it relates to the layers of meaning suggested in the individual artworks themselves. These deeper dimensions of meaning can be cultural, temporal, emotional or personal as they evoke a story or theme beyond the surface imagery.
Loraine Toth’s vibrant and fantastical sculptures are inspired by the European traditions of the Commedia dell’arte, a style of theatre originating in northern Italy in the fifteenth century, which Toth became acquainted with while studying art in Vienna. The Commedia dell’arte featured actors wearing distinctive costumes and masks, who performed with highly stylized postures and exaggerated gestures to convey emotion and intent. Toth’s figurative works, always intensely colorful, can range from bold and provocative to sensitive and alluring – with facial expressions, gestures, props and masks contributing to their overall visual impact and messaging. She often chooses to display multiple sculptures together as part of a unified group–evocative of a theatre performance where one artwork can play off against another in telling a story. Her ceramic sculptures are glazed and fired, sometimes multiple times.
Jane Casner Mothersill’s vivid and complex still life paintings reflect her innate love of beauty as revealed in nature or physical objects while drawing upon her rich international experiences in Asia, where she lived for 20 years. With a long held and deep interest in foreign cultures, she has amassed a significant collection of textiles, ceramics / lacquerware, religious /ornamental items and various objet d’art in her travels which often find expression in her paintings. Some works serve as artistic observations on the beauty, emotions and colors found in living nature as contrasted with those emanating from a colorful textile. In other works, particularly ones that incorporate multiple physical objects, the cultural items take on a much more expressly symbolic role–with the stories these works tell derived increasingly from compositional elements rather than from color. Casner Mothersill’s paintings include oil on linen canvas works and pastels on paper.
“Dimensions” is very much a show about color, imagery and context–which can be enjoyed on many levels. Incorporating both Western traditions and Oriental influences, the works in the show are visually engaging-yet complex. And there is also some whimsy in the body of work on display to add to the fun! There will be over 50 artworks on display. This will be a journey that art lovers will enjoy exploring with Loraine Toth and Jane Casner Mothersill!
