Friday, May 24, 2013
Hanging untethered
by Bret Wright
click to enlarge
There's a smackdown happening, and Manitou Springs' Green Horse Gallery will soon play host to the results. No, there isn't a cage, and the word "martial" doesn't preface the word "art" at any time, but the challenge is there, nonetheless. Colorado Springs artist Juel Grant's new show at the Green Horse is all about trying to gather different mediums and braid them together.
"Man is the one animal that is never content where he is," says Grant. "If we're on the ground, we want to fly, and if we're flying, we want to swim." It's this lack of contentment that he wants to capture in his latest show.
Coalescence Untethered represents a bit of a paradox for Grant, who is trying to weave one expression out of the many elements that comprise drawing, painting and sculpture. Similar to a puzzle, sculptural pieces are fitted together to form animal shapes, and those shapes fit into a larger work that coalesces into a human bust.
"You think you can do something," he says, "and then it's like a personal throwdown, and you say to yourself, 'Let's see it.'"
The 50-something artist has shown his work at FrameWorks Gallery and Pianos New and Used, but says that he hasn't shown much lately. Known for his Renaissance-style paintings on eggs, black-and-white on Mylar drawings, and more, Grant says that he's been all over the map as far as his art is concerned.
There is a part of him that would really love to just be content and dwell in one place, artistically, "but, for the life of me, it's just not in me at this point."
"Art can become musical, with no lyrics," he says. "I love that kind of dialogue, just stepping into that tangled complexity. For me, it's my best chance to hang on to the side of the planet."
