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Arts & Entertainment

Recent Work: Mexico to New York by Victoria Behm at 440 Gallery

Recent Work: Mexico and New York
Paintings, Prints and Drawings by Victoria Behm

April 12 - May 13, 2012

Opening reception: Saturday, April 14, 4 - 7 pm

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Victoria Behm's exhibit at the 440 Gallery is an eclectic display of Behm's multiple artistic obsessions. Behm's elegant grid paintings, in encaustic and oil on canvas, constitute one element of her work. Her mother was a master quilt maker and Behm says she "grew up among the geometry of cut fabrics and the history of patterns." These abstract color blocks, distilled from traditional quilt designs, constitute a series of paintings popular with designers and architects. Related to these paintings are wood-cut prints she made on an old press at a Mayan paper cooperative in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, where there is a strong textile tradition dating back 400 years. Many of their woven and embroidered symbols and designs resemble American quilt patterns. 

 This work faces a wall of quirky pen and ink drawings covering a range of subjects, reflecting Behm's broad life experiences and intimate daily encounters. Humorous, poignant and engaging, stylistically the drawings resemble the artist's most recent commercial coup: a national Cole Haan ad campaign that has been popping up throughoutNew York City and online.

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 Giant skeleton figures, resembling Day of the Dead imagery, bridge the two diverse styles.Crafted from styrofoam plates and printed on yellowing 50-year old, hand-set newspapers from San Cristobal de las Casas, the figures possess the same graphic energy as the drawings. They hold in their hands mysterious panels, scribed with geometric patterns that could be folkloric textiles, the floor plans of Mesoamerican pyramids or Behm's elegant quilt paintings.

 

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