January 30 through March 17, 2017
Reception for the Artist: Friday, February 10, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
The Derryfield
School Lyceum Gallery proudly presents Color Speaks, stunningly
bright and colorful paintings by New Hampshire artist Alison Palizzolo. “Color
is to visual vocabulary as words are to auditory speech” says the artist and
her work reflects that sense. Color Speaks will talk to its
viewers with work that is playful and experimental. Alison says “My artistic
decisions are rooted in color theory, drawing upon color’s rich history and
from the doctrines of scholars such as Aristotle, Newton, Goethe, Munsell,
Albers, and others.”
Ms. Palizzolo
grew up locally in an artistic household, and began taking art lessons at the
Currier Museum of Art at the age of seven. She graduated cum laude from Keene
State College in 2009 with an individualized major in art history and a minor
studio art. During the summer of her sophomore year, she obtained an internship
at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, which led to a full-time
position. In May 2016 she was promoted to public relations coordinator. Ms.
Palizzolo says for her, “Creating art has always been my greatest passion,
studying the history of art is a close second.”
The works Ms.
Palizzolo will share with the Derryfield community are comprised of a series
entitled Single Breakthrough, which
is to be viewed as a whole and then as a microcosm. The artist uses a
consistence of ratio and compositional formula, and style in her creations in
order to “facilitate the viewer to focus on color as the subject and medium. I
believe the use of these unifying characteristics will enable a true artistic
exploration of color. Allowing the viewer to fully consider their innate
emotional and intellectual responses to various hues.”
The observer
is encouraged to first “explore the series as a whole and then contemplate them
as individual works of art. When displayed in a group, the paintings are meant
to speak to one another. Individuals will naturally be drawn to color schemes
that ignite a conscious or subconscious reaction. It is necessary to examine
which hues generate positive responses and why. Alternatively, the viewer to
also consider why their perception of certain colors motivate a negative
reaction.” Each larger 18x24 inch painting (3:4) is accompanied by a 3x3 inch
(1:1) mini painting, created from the same palette as it's larger counterpart.
The microcosms test how our visual perception of identical colors can be
altered by a change in scale. The microcosms are also meant to provide another
possible point of entry into my work. Hopefully, they too will spark
conversations centered on color perception and communication.”
In her work,
Ms. Palizzolo is searching for, what color theorist Josef Albers described as,
the “magic of color.” Albers writes "In order to use color effectively it
is necessary to recognize that color deceives continually.” Palizzolo’s
paintings are “experiments in color communication, how our eyes interpret the
language of color to our brain, and the resulting emotional reaction or
intellectual response.” Experience for yourself the magic of color and how it
speaks!
Color
Speaks runs from
January 30 to March 17, 2017. All are invited to a reception for the artist
Friday, February 10, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. (snow date March 15, 6:00-7:00 p.m.)
in The Derryfield School's Lyceum Gallery. Live music by Derryfield student
musicians, and refreshments will be provided. The Gallery is open weekdays,
8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. To learn more visit The Derryfield
School's website or email lyceumgallery@derryfield.org.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Color
is to vision as words are to speech.
Our eyes are vehicles through which we interpret
the optical language of color. In my work I am searching for what color
theorist Josef Albers described as the “magic of color.”
Color is the
real subject of my work. My paintings are meant to be playful and experimental.
My artistic decisions are rooted in color theory, drawing upon color’s
interpretation and usage throughout history and from the doctrines of scholars
such as Aristotle, Newton, Goethe, Munsell, Albers, and others. I contemplate
both the writings of color theorists as well as the historical development of
the color wheel. My paintings are experiments in color communication: how our
eyes interpret the language of color to our brain and the resulting emotional
reaction or intellectual response. They investigate how colors speak to each
other (and the viewer) on a two-dimensional surface as well as how texture,
movement, composition, and scale effect the way color is perceived.
Examining
color through the lens of abstract painting presents both challenges and
advantages in terms of viewer accessibility. My stylistic choices are secondary
to my use of color as the subject and medium, but are also important in laying
the groundwork for each piece. Stylistically, I am exploiting the
"comfortable familiarity" of post-impressionism, abstract
expressionism, and geometric abstraction. I am stylistically referencing these
popular movements in an attempt to capitalize on their renowned effectiveness
and to guide the viewer to a convenient point of entry. Allowing the eye to
easily transition from reading the image as a whole to absorbing its details.
My
paintings are meant to draw the viewer in and invite close looking. The
"organized chaos" of my work is meant to reflect the structure of
modern day life. Fast-paced and technology driven, our social construct is
always changing but never slowing. Art is a constant in human history and as
society evolves, so, too does art. Through the use of an all over painting
technique, I am aiming to give the viewer cause to stop, and really
absorb what's in front of them and provide an escape. An escape not necessarily
from reality, or from what is in front of us, but from the buzzing world around
us.
As
in many styles of artistic expression, a single work of art can evoke different
emotional or intellectual responses from each viewer. The same can be said of
color. I believe that color can only be truly explored through abstraction,
because color itself is an abstract notion. My fascination with color lies
within the likelihood that no two sets of eyes will ever perceive one color in
exactly the same way.
"And
even
if
that round red Coca Cola sign with the same white name in the middle
is
actually shown so that everyone focuses on the same red,
each
will receive the same projection on his retina,
but
no one can be sure whether each has the same perception."
—Josef
Albers, Interaction of Color, (1963)
