Mahan Gallery

“^^^^^: The Allegory of the Mountain”

Michelle Blade - Bryson Gill - Natalie Lanese - Brendan Lott

Katja Mater - Hilary Pecis - Matthew Porter - Catherine Ryan

Daniel Tierney 

Curated by Colleen Grennan

October 4th – October 25th 2008

PRESS RELEASE

Mahan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings, drawings, photography, and collage by nine globally recognized artists all of whom share in their work a strong interest in symbolical narrative. The exhibition will function as a survey of mountainous aesthetics simultaneously exploring the fables, folklores, and assumed simulations of the mountain by the artist or interpretation of the curator. Subjects sought out to be exhibited are: prophecy, trance, delight, shame, pain, dreaming, madness, laughter, and the different shapes the mountain can possess.  "^^^^^" will take the vast thematic potential of the mountain and allow interpretations to flow from specific to ambivalent.

Variations on this theme span a seemingly endless expanse. This can be seen from the abstract expressionist gestures and drips of Chinese style epic mountain-scape paintings by Michelle Blade (San Francisco, CA), to Bryson Gill’s (San Francisco, CA) graphite drawing of a man’s reflection on the side of a mountain interpreting a meditative state; the descendence represented in Natalie Lanese’s (Brooklyn, NY) paintings alludes to prophetical pilgrammages and the scrambled field paintings of Brendan Lott (San Francisco, CA) invoke a simulated zen or trance of the mountain. Katja Mater (Amsterdam) offers the viewer supernatural visions of dancers while Hilary Pecis’ (San Francisco, CA) collages depict futuristic landscapes denoting time and space. Matthew Porter’s (Brooklyn, NY) portraits of cowboys and zeppelins traverse one another in a parallel narration. Catherine Ryan’s (San Francisco, CA) drawings remain stagnant in a reverie of mysticism and disconnection of person to place. Lastly, the sculptural achievements of Daniel Tierney (San Francisco, CA) mimic the mass as an expression of being, with the idea of verticality and center, thereby, completing the collection of work in this exhibition.

Although showing under the same, delegated theme, all involved show contemporary art’s ability to think in vastly different degrees at the same time.  From literal depictions of impressive ranges to the underlying, abstract religious investigations, and allusive spiritual relations between man and mountain.

The Mahan Gallery presents the work of contemporary artists in a variety of media, including painting, photography, and sculpture. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 6pm and by appointment.

For more information please visit www.mahangallery.com or contact info@mahangallery.com