Degrees of Emergence
Artplex Gallery’s latest exhibition Degrees of Emergence will feature artwork from Frederic Paul, Jessica Calderwood, Kodjovi Olympio, and Juana Céspedes in a study of presence and insight. Just as the day changes around us, each artwork in this exhibition transforms under the eye of the viewer as materials combine through the artist and the onlooker to become an entirely new force. Copper and porcelain sculptures, delicate and bright watercolor tableaux, rice paper, and layer canvases come together from across the world in a delightful emergence from novel and coherent techniques.
Frederic Paul is inspired by the bold colors, spices, floral diversity and intensity of Asian cities. Born in Germany, the artist’s connection to the Philippines inspires his use of rice paper as a central material in his work. Paul’s poetic artworks are exhibited around the world. Each artwork whispers with natural serenity, such as the day’s last light before the sunset. Emerging through complexity, spontaneous elements in Paul’s work defy entropy and build within rich washes of color and texture.
Mixing materials and forms, sculptures from Jessica Calderwood depict delicate limbs swathed in folding forms. These compositions become a negation: censoring or denying what lies beneath. Calderwood is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Ball State University and has been exhibited extensively across the United States. The negotiation between a viewer and the obscurity of Calderwood’s subject leads to their emergent meaning. From porcelain to sculpture, then from sculpture to the onlooker’s intention.
Ostensive qualities of balance and honesty break though energetic compositions in Olympio’s artworks. Born and raised in Togo, West Africa, Olympio moved to Paris, and then the United States where his work won him the accolade of “Top 10 Artist at Art Basel Miami” in 2018. Layering canvases and combining materials, Olympio propels himself through the canvas creating colorful and reflective artworks that are as simple as a heartbeat, as complex as a hurricane.
Juana Céspedes is inspired by the contagious joy of dance. She imagines the convergence of souls in her hometown of Barcelona as city squares flood with dancers who are celebrating the return of warmer days. With no connection to the art world, Céspedes did not show her work as she developed her unique watercolor style. Fashion, dance, and joy are born within color and move through brushstrokes, bolstered by Céspedes’ deeply personal and joyous depiction of life. Themes of springtime and joy viscerally lighten the viewer, transporting them to the electric sense of spirit and elation of a warm night after winter.
