Joan Konkel

 Artist Statement-

My work addresses color from a spatial point of view.  The low-relief work explores “microspace”, a dimension where light, color and space can interact with planes of metal and layered mesh to form a visual labyrinth.  It is a kaleidoscope with depth perception that deceives, with metal that appears ethereal, a place where layers of color bond or break apart into patterns, and float and reform in new combinations when the viewer moves.  Within the work, two opposite forces are at work, the absorption of light along with the reflection and refraction of light, the effect whispers of mysteries both physical and spiritual.

 

Microspace exists between strands of mesh, a woven material that has proved ideal for the passage of light and the transformation of color.  Unlike color-mixing techniques in two dimensions, hues from different planes combine with one another in space. The third dimension also permits colors to deconstruct.  When mesh is layered, moiré patterns can appear, breaking a union of colors into fragments.   Additional optical effects come into play as light makes its journey filtering at myriad angles to bounce off a plethora of colored strands to layers below.  The appearance of depth in the work may be real, or an illusion.  A glow may seem to emanate from within the canvas.  As the direction or source of light changes the colors of the artwork undergo transformation. 

 

Reality and illusion are intertwined.  In essence, this low relief sculpture begins a phenomenological experience of the construction and deconstruction of color in microspace.   The spatial dimension is woven with light and sets the stage for the metamorphosis of color.  Hues from different layers dance with one another and with light.  The movement of the viewer awakens the labyrinth, colors beckon.

2011 Exhibitions

              Shining Stars  -Zenith Gallery at 1111 Pennsylvania Ave. NW WDC Sept.-Dec.

              Visual Voices- Zenith Gallery at Chevy Chase, DC, Sept. 21. –October 30.

 

2010 Exhibitions

ART IN EMBASSIES PROGRAM, U.S. Department of State, U.S.Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, Paris, France.

AUTUMN  EQUINOX, Zenith Gallery, Chevy Chase Pavilion

TREES OF LIFE II, Zenith Gallery, Chevy Chase, MD

A Gallery Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA

 

2009 Exhibitions
          US Embassy, Paris UNESCO 2009, Ambassador Killion. Art in Embassies Program. Department of State.
          COURAGE UNMASKED, benefit exhibition, American University Museum at the Katzen Art Center, Washington, DC
          Gloer Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
          Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC
          Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
          Galley A, Palm Desert, CA

 

2008 Exhibitions

                - ABSTRACT ART, FALL GROUP SHOW, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK  

                - SINGULAR VISION, Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC

                - ARTOMATIC 2008.  Washington, DC

                - TREES OF LIFE, Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC

 

2007 Exhibitions:

                -ART IN EMBASSIES PROGRAM, US Department of State, Albanian Embassy   

                -IS SEEING BELIEVING?,. Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC - solo show

                -WOMEN OF STEEL, MEN OF CLOTH, Suffolk Museum, Suffolk, VA

               - COLORFIELD REMIX;  SATURATEDHeineman Myers Contemporary Art.  Bethesda, MD

               - ARTOMATIC 2007.  Arlington, VA    

               - 29 ARTISTS -- 29 YEARS.  Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC

               - REFRACTIONS.  Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA - solo show.

               - ZENITH IN III-D, off site installation. Washington, DC

 

2006 Exhibitions:    

               -NEW DIRECTIONS '06.  The Barrett Art Center's 22nd Annual National Juried Contemporary Art Exhibition, Poughkeepsie, NY

               -SIZZLING SUMMER SAMPLER, Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC

               -OLD SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BUILDING, Washington, DC - solo show

              -28th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION, Zenith Gallery    

 

2005 Exhibitions:   

               - METALURGY,  Gallery Siano. Philadelphia. PA

               - INTO THE MINDS OF NINE, Zenith Gallery

               - BENEFIT EXHIBITION. National Museum of Women in the Arts, WashingtonDC

               - 116th ANNUAL EXHIBITION:  SMALL WORKS.   National Association of Women Artists.  New York, NY

 

2004 Exhibitions:

              - FORGED AND FABRICATED, Zenith Gallery    

              - THREAD, Zenith Gallery

              - 26th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION, Zenith Gallery

              - INTERNATIONAL DISHMAN COMPETITION,  The Dishman Art Museum. Lamar University, Beaumont, TX

1984 Exhibitions:

      - CELEBRATING ANNIE ALBERS, the Renwick Gallery, National Museum of

        American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

       -THE ART OF CRAFTS, Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC

       -THE ART BARN, Washington, DC

 

1980 Exhibitions:

      - KREEGER AWARDS SHOW, Dimmock Gallery, Washington, DC

 

Commission:

            -Mural:  2.2 feet x 48 feet.  National Association of Home Builders, Washington,

             DC.  2004

 

Corporations;

            -AdvantEdge Business Centers, Washington, DC

            -ING/Clarion, Tysons Corner, VA

            -KSI, Reston, VA

            -Maslow Media Group, Washington, DC

            -Venable LLP, Washington, DC

            -Holder Construction Group, Herndon, VA

 

Reviews And Publications

 -Emily Lyons, Washington Spaces, "A Moveable Feast for the Eyes, Joan Konkel's

   Interactive Low-Relief  Sculptures".  Spring 2008

-Trish DonnallyWashington Spaces, “Manhattan Transfer.”   Spring 2007

-American Art Collector. April 2006 Edition.

-Debora Martin.  "Gallery Siano.  METALLURGY (Joan Konkel)."      

  Nov. 4-26, 2005

            Links

              http://www.washingtonspaces.com/2008/3/articles/a-moveable-feast-for-the-eyes

              http://www.washingtonspaces.com/2008/3/articles/a-moveable-feast-for-the-          eyes/video/artist-talk-joan-konkel

              http://www.phillygalleryguide.com/reviews.htm (search Konkel)

 

Awards And Honors:

-Fellowship.  The National Endowment For The Arts, Washington, DC

-The Annie Albers Designer Award.  Washington, DC

-Honorable Mention.  International Dishman Competition.  Dishman Art Museum, Lamar   

  University, Beaumont, TX

                       

Education:

-MFA, Sculpture, George Washington University, Washington, DC

-Studies, The Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC

-MA, BFA, San Francisco College for Women at Lone Mountain, San Francisco, CA