For the month of July, downtown mainstay and popular hangout for many local artists, the Caffe Phoenix, is exhibiting the work of two women that I in particular am rather fond of. That should come as no surprise, given that I am married to one of them.
Nikki Wisniowski is showing a collection of brand new art. It consists primarily of collage work and mixed media pieces. I have to say that I think she's doing some fantastic things these days, but then I am a little biased. So instead I present you with Nikki's own words regarding her current efforts:
My work is subconsciously nostalgic of the place where I was born, which is very different from where I am now. I grew up in eastern Montana, which has a different aesthetic than any other place I've been. Mostly what is there is a rolling sea of grass, speckled with green juniper and the occasional tree. I think that the wide open spaces in my art reflect my love of Big Sky country, and how much I miss that strange place.Wendy Kowalski has been a friend of mine for much of the time we have spent in Wilmington. She is a painter that I have had the pleasure to work with on the Coloring Stories for Conscious Stories project. Kowalski, a single mother and artist, is extremely prolific. Her work depicts figures that are often airborne and in motion.
Born in Connecticut and a former desert dweller, Kowalski is now painting a series of large scale mixed-media paintings entitled Nebulon. Her current studio is by the sea in North Carolina. In art she explores the transcendence to the spontaneous, fluid, orbiting, often magical, and spiritual free-flight of the mind and body. She's inspired by nature, music, her two year old son Blaze, and this magical waking circus life which is full of love and blessings. Her brush is piloted by caffeine, trance music, and insomnia.The pairing of these two artists seems obvious. They are different but complimentary. While Wendy's paintings are of a more lofty disposition, Nikki's collages tend to be more grounded. As such, the exhibition explores the opposites of earth and sky while paying attention to how people fit in between the two.
An opening reception for the Earth Below Us show will be held on Wednesday, July 15, at 7:00 pm. Come join us and meet these two wonderful ladies and their artwork!
