Visual & Performing Arts: Art Gallery

THE ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE ART GALLERY PRESENTS

Unearths: A Solo Exhibition by Annelie McKenzie

Exhibition Dates: March 8 – April 3, 2010

Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 10, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Artist Talk by Annelie Mckenzie at 7:15 p.m.

The Antelope Valley College Art Gallery is proud to present an exhibition of figurative works by Annelie McKenzie. Her paintings of bodies are artifacts of a single individual, yet can be read as universal, almost abstract figures.

"Where Men Gather", 2009, 73 x 113 inches, Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas

‘Ideal’ and ‘nature’, ‘essence’ and ‘portrait’, ‘nude’ and ‘naked’ are not mutually exclusive in these works. By both abstracting and documenting bodily forms, her paintings challenge the binary approach to the figure that characterizes much of western art history.

McKenzie's pieces begin as loose canvas laid out on the ground. Acrylic paint is brushed onto a nude model’s skin. The model lies on the canvas and a monoprint is created. The print shows the texture of the skin, with ragged edges and small gaps. Bare areas of canvas are filled with small abstractions ;she calls "emotions" (bits of thought, earth, and sunfluff). McKenzie claims that she's "aiming to expose the physical reality of thought and emotion which fill the vast expanse of negative space/empty space echoing in between the molecules of our bodies and our earth."

McKenzie is aware of the precedent Yves Klien set when he created human body prints in his series of “Anthropometries” in the 50’s and early 60’s. His process of printing the female body was often done in front of an audience alongside a small orchestra. In contrast, Annelie’s body prints are done privately and the emphasis is on the finished work of art, not just the print process or the act of the print.

McKenzie describes her paintings as “a play between movement and stillness, blur and focus, silence and noise. The earth encroaches upon the body's decaying boundaries even as we walk upon it. The very bodies which carry us through life are steadily bearing us to the time that the earth will close over our skins.
This is both an eventual fate and the present moment.”

Annelie McKenzie was born in Montreal, Canada, and moved to western Canada while still a child. She received her BFA from the University of Calgary in 1997 and shortly thereafter moved to Los Angeles. McKenzie taught emotionally disturbed kids by day and performed as drummer in various indie rock/punk bands at night, amassing scribbly life drawings during this period (there are over 400). In 2003, McKenzie had her first solo show at the Ann Donahue new condo non-gallery in Los Angeles. She lives and works in Long Beach with her husband and 3 hamsters.

Gallery Hours

Mon. through Thurs. 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Fri. Noon - 9 p.m., Sat 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
661.722.6300, extension 6215

Upon request 3 business days before the event, reasonable
accommodation will be provided to facilitate the participation of
covered individuals with disabilities.

Call 661.722.6360 (voice)
or 661.722.6362 (TDD).