Micah Crandall-Bear's upcoming one-person show was featured in the July 2013 issue of American Art Collector magazine. Read the editorial below:
Sedge - acrylic and modified oil on canvas - 12 X 30
Micah Crandall-Bear’s upcoming solo exhibition at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California, features new abstract landscapes that are reminiscent of his native California lands. Having devoted more than a year to working on paintings for the exhibit, Crandall-Bear says, “I’ve never spent this much time preparing for a show and it really shows. I couldn’t be happier.”
In this, the first solo exhibit Crandall-Bear will have at the gallery, the artist continues a series he calls Develop. The term has several meanings but, in general, it touches upon “the retro, vintage Polaroid,” a theme that runs throughout the paintings and works feature a border similar to the iconic one found on a Polaroid.
Aside from the photography reference, Develop means the development of Crandall-
Bear’s painting process and, as he explains, “the development in abstract landscapes that find a connection to the development of natural beauty and the balance of organic elements.” He adds, “Not necessarily the developments of anything man-made. These are kind of meant to be abstract landscapes that inspire deeper breaths, a greater connection to a sense of peace. My hope is to transfer that sense of natural beauty with a composed balance of elements.”
Stylistically, collectors and patrons who know the artist’s work will notice more of a pop feel. “I am going a lot brighter with the colors and tones in the skies,” says Crandall- Bear, who has been using deep reds and some oranges in the latest pieces. “Some of the older ones are distressed and kind of saturated in the tones, a little more earthy and underdeveloped, if you will, while these ones have a little bit more of a pop to them.”
Paintings such as Sfumato and Ultra are two that are on the opposite ends of the spectrum of works that will be in the show. According to the artist, Sfumato has a bit of an Old Masters feeling landscape, while the sky is contemporary; and Ultra has a vibrant pink and could be thought of as a landscape or a color-field with the horizontal bands of color. “I am a huge fan of Rothko; I use a lot of color-field techniques in my work,” elaborates the artist. “The actual bands of color as opposed to the color-field give it a modern feel.”
The show will hang July 6 to August 1 and will feature approximately 20 paintings.
New Horizons
July 6 - August 1, 2013
Elliott Fouts Gallery
1831 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
