A daydream will last along into the night
Ally White, Yellow Fish, acrylic and collage on panel, 16 x 20 inches, 2016
Amelia Carley & Ally White
HATHAWAY Gallery
June 7 - August 4, 2018
Response> Atlanta Georgia
Anna Nelson Daniel
July 26, 2018
A daydream will last along into the night, comprised of work by Amelia Carley and Ally White at HATHAWAY Gallery, casts an imagined world of brightly colored forms and figures. Organic lines reference life outside of the gallery walls. At face value these two-dimensional works are vibrant and alluring. Delving deeper into the subject matter, however, these female artists build on the language of painting and long-standing negotiations between concepts of interior and exterior, the self within society.
Carley’s ambiguous, rock-like formations resemble piles of sea glass or crystal with detailed reflections both in and out of focus. Mountainous shapes ground each painting within the confines of the canvas. Vibrant gradient backgrounds read like otherworldly sunsets, drawing the eye upward. Unlike traditional landscape painting, which might employ techniques from Impressionist or Realist traditions, these works depict imagined and deliberate terrain of the artists’ creation. A considered relationship with nature is apparent and simultaneously open to interpretation. It could be interpreted as scenes of the American Southwest—as Carley notes in her artist statement—or perhaps hardened lava, or even artificial coral placed in a bed of pebbles at the bottom of a home aquarium. Possible meanings seem subjective and therefore endless.
Amelia Carley, Mount Lucent (daybreak anecdote), Oil on canvas, 2018
White, however, takes a much more literal approach through her narrative paintings and tapestries. In Yellow Fish (2016) she makes use of precise brushstrokes to illustrate a woman in her underwear standing alongside her pets. The fish tank is framed by the edges of the panel. The fish and figure alike are then framed by the edges of the tank. The genres of painting evoked are equally as layered as the subject matter. White blends portraiture and still life with a nod to landscape imagery. All of these things combine to resemble the genre painting style, but somehow still defies traditional classifications.
White explains that while previous works were concentrated on interior scenes, “the figures in my work have stepped outside and are enjoying the fresh air. I believe that these new depictions of imagined outside scenery coincide with Amelia’s artificial and invented lands, tying our very different made-up worlds into one another.”
A daydream will last long into the night, Installation image, HATHAWAY gallery. Image courtesy HATHAWAY.
In Yellow Fish, there is a duality between the pets contained and the person beside them. This figure exists outside (of the tank) yet is still confined by the corners of the panel. This image could simply be described as a glimpse into the everyday life of this nondescript body.
Considering the exhibition as a whole, the works combine to create commentary on the relationship between the feminine and natural. In A daydream will last along into the night, women are either directly depicted in nature or are thought to be in relationship to it through representations of visual nature studies. In literature, the notion of person versus nature is a kind of external conflict. Rather than place the protagonist at odds with the natural, these artists capture moments of tranquility by aligning the figure, or implied figure, with the animal or landscape.
A daydream will last long into the night, Installation image, HATHAWAY gallery. Image courtesy HATHAWAY.
A daydream will last along into the night will be on view at HATHAWAY Gallery through August 4. Open hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10am - 5pm and Monday/Tuesday by appointment.
Amelia Carley is an interdisciplinary artist making work concerning the interpretation of memories within the landscape and fictitious sites. Born and raised in Colorado, Carley attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Colorado at Boulder where she graduated with honors receiving a BFA in Painting and Drawing along with BA in both Psychology and Italian.
Ally White grew up in Dallas, GA and received her BFA in painting from the University of Georgia in 2013. Her work has been exhibited across the country in venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Hashimoto Contemporary, Zero Zero LA, ATHICA, MINT Gallery, Art Market SF, Art on Paper NYC and HATHAWAY Contemporary Gallery. White has held solo exhibitions in San Juan, PR at Trailer Park Projects and in Atlanta, GA at Eyedrum Gallery. Most recently her work was featured in the annual pop-up exhibition INTO ACTION, a social-Justice themed art fair in Los Angeles, CA. She was featured on the cover of New American Paintings #106, and was selected as a “Jury Picks” for 100 Painters of Tomorrow, a publication produced by Beers Contemporary in London. She currently lives and works in San Jose, CA.
allywhite.com
Our mission at HATHAWAY is to foster and expand the contemporary art collector base in the Southeast through inclusivity and education. We exhibit emerging to established artists whose innovative work represents a variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, video, fiber arts and installation. HATHAWAY was established in 2015 and is located on the Westside of Atlanta.
Anna Nelson-Daniel is an artist and writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned a Master's degree in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art (London, 2014) and a Bachelor's degree in Art History/ Visual Arts from Emory University (Atlanta, 2012). Anna has lectured in art theory on the intersection of contemporary art and public discourse at the Tate Modern. Her artwork has exhibited internationally and with Atlanta-based organizations such as Dashboard Co-Op, TILA Studios and Brickworks Gallery. Her published writing can be found online with Glasstire and ArtsATL.
RESPONSE
A feature of project reviews experienced in person. Response will provide artists with much needed critical response to their work. Response is opinion-based but is not an op-ed.