Madeline Garrett's Studio Blog

Madeline Garrett | Newsletter October 2017

10/31/2017

Studio Gone Urban

Well, I achieved my goal these past few months: create enough artwork for the group show in September at the 10 West Gallery and my solo show in October - Industrial Strength - at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara. The October show was a completely new challenge since I was switching gears to even more urban-concentrated collage and I did not realize how much time it would take to work on the collage.. hours upon hours of taping the potential composition and moving everything around until either it feels settled or I drive myself so crazy that I finally tell myself to just glue it down and react to the next layer. Gotta love the non-permanent non-commital aspect of collage, until you start gluing. I would start with coffee in the morning and go straight to the studio, for 12-hr days, in pure insanity mode but also a total joy. Go figure.

While working on the collage and digging through boxes of old pictures, I found my b&w negatives from stomping around Greenwich Village back in the '80s. They were scanned to digital, printed, torn and added to the collage. I also selected four of the key images to be mounted on panel for illustrative purposes. With all the painting/writing/tagging/ gluing going on, it was an amazing experience!! Be sure to visit my website portfolio to view the new artwork. I also wrote an Industrial Strength Artist Statement to go with the show at the Architectural Foundation. Check it out if you get a chance, the show is up through November 16. Gallery hours are Saturdays 1-4pm and by appointment (please contact AFSB at 805.965.6307).

Slideshow (above): my Industrial Strength solo show at the Architectural Foundation

Madeline Garrett Industrial Strength urban collage Architectural Foundation

Chinatown Bakery 12x12" mixed media collage on panel

Cutaway (I) 12x12 mixed media collage on panel

Madeline Garrett graffiti dumpster greenwich NYC

"Greenwich Village: Graffiti Dumpster" photographed in the 1980's, the beginning of my obsession with chaotic urban photography.

Sold! on opening night

A few pieces were sold on opening night which is always a nice surprise: "Greenwich: Sun Flare" (9x12" digital print mounted on panel), "Greenwich: Laundry" (9x12" digital print mounted on panel), and "Turtle Race" (12x12" mixed media on panel, see slideshow below.

Sold at Artful Sol in Vail, CO

Madeline Garrett Camino Cielo I & II Santa Barbara CA

These are two of my paintings that were sold at Artful Sol last month - Camino Cielo (I) & (II). They were actually painted while adventuring on E. Camino Cielo during one of my "outdoor hiking/painting afternoons". These are near and dear to my heart.

Madeline Garrett outdoor studio santa barbara ca

Workshop Dates for Jan-Mar 2018

I will be teaching Abstract Layering Workshops in 2018: Level 1, Level 2, and brand new.. Advanced - Working Large for those that have taken my previous workshops and wish to go bigger with abstract layering techniques!! Just announced yesterday, and already Level 1 is almost full! Please see flyers below, share with anyone you know that might be interested, or message me if you are interested in attending.

Madeline Garrett Advanced Abstract Workshop Santa Barbara

Madeline Garrett Abstract Layering Workshop Santa Barbara

Industrial Strength - Review

Zach Rosen from the Sentinel reviewed my show at AFSB.. I had less than an hour's notice, but I'm always ready to talk art.. many thanks to Zach for the write up!

New: Find My Work on Artsy!

Lastly, I have a profile on artsy.net, through 10 West Gallery. Artsy gets a lot of exposure as an online directory for major artists, art galleries, and art collectors. Please take the time to browse and like/follow to increase the viability of my site and 10 West Gallery. Many thanks for your support!!

best,
Madeline

1 Comment

Madeline Garrett | Industrial Strength Artist Statement

10/12/2017

2 Comments

My newest collage and paintings are now hanging at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara in my solo show Industrial Strength. It took a massive amount of Industrial Strength to complete the show while focusing on this concept of industrial strength and what it means to my studio practice and ultimately the work that was accomplished. So I wrote an Industrial Strength artist statement to reflect the work.

Industrial Strength connotes "extremely powerful, intense, durable, more concentrated than the standard brand." My newest work has been intensified with protests and prayers woven into multiple layers of hand-painted papers, stenciling, reduction techniques, and torn images from my archive of street photography. Chaotic urban environments with demolished walls, raw graffiti, and gritty patterns all make their way into Industrial Strength.

My idea for Industrial Strength has been brewing for over 30 years, absorbing city images until it started to flow out of my fingertips in an orchestration of color and energy. I am fascinated by the volume of graffiti covering almost any surface – walls, fences, railings, train cars, utility boxes, dumpsters. There is something about the rhythm,

Madeline Garrett live your dreams graffiti collage at AFSB

Live Your Dreams 12x12" mixed media collage on panel

the color, and the energy that speak so strongly to me. I admire the boldness of street artists to create something bursting with color when the walls and fences are otherwise concrete ugliness, and the bravery to have the vision and find a place to make their imprint by hanging from billboards and rooftops. I am not glorifying vandalism of personal property or hate tags between gangs – that is not ok with me – but beautifying old neglected walls has an astounding worthiness that makes the world a little brighter, which I think is a brilliant and brave thing to do

Photography has become my method of examining this world zooming in closer and closer, not to understand or interpret, but to feel and embrace the beauty/chaos, the angst, the hint of meaning in the images. My tradition of searching for the mysterious and unknown has extended to the urban walls covered with street art that occurs mostly during late night hours, somewhat encrypted and unpredictable. The mystery is there and I love it..

Alley in Haight Ashbury, a fine example of graffiti on dumpsters, utility boxes, stairwells. Photograph by Madeline Garrett (2014)

The collage pieces contain many of my photographs from NYC, Haight Ashbury, Alcatraz, and Chinatown (San Francisco), in patterns of abstracted sections, torn and re-built into something that echoes in my soul. I've tagged my own paintings. I've written Industrial Strength protests and prayers with Industrial Strength attitude to make a difference in a broken world. We all need Industrial Strength to do what's right, kind and decent. Not just for one single religion, country, race or creed, but for all of us that share this planet earth.

Industrial Strength is on view through November 16th at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara, 229 E. Victoria St, Santa Barbara, CA. Gallery hours are Saturdays from 1pm-4pm and by appointment (please call AFSB at 805-965-6307).

~Madeline