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Umi to YamaPost an Event »

Vessel Gallery

November 30 - January 1, 2012

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471 25th Street Oakland, CA 94612
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Umi to Yama Japan detail of diptych encaustic painting, by Mari Marks (2011)
Umi to Yama painting by Mari Marks bronze sculpture by Luke Heimbigner jewelry by Sakura Haru OPENING Reception Friday, December 2, 6-9PM ARTIST TALK: Saturday, December 10th, 2-4PM meet Luke Heimbigner and Mari Marks, learn about each artist's process in making the works included in “Umi to Yama” JEWELRY Artist Talk / Trunk Show: Saturday, December 3rd, 2-4PM meet Sakura Haru, jewelry artist inspired by treasures from the sea. Please come try on her metal and gem adorned works of art! Vessel Gallery, 471 25th Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 893 8800 Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11-6PM Vessel Gallery is excited to bring forth works by Mari Marks, Luke Heimbigner, and Sakura Haru. "Umi to Yama" (Japanese for sea and mountain) reveals the majestic powers of these two earth forces. Throughout time, these have served as physical inspiration for spiritual quests and ethos in nature. These contemporary works remind us of the timeless legacy of these two subjects. Mari Marks' work is a meditative journey into encaustic painting. Possessing over 35 years of committment to her career of art making and painting, her works consistently articulate her willful intention to be engaged fully in the process; an improvisational call & response towards the physicality of the material. Mari intentfully focuses on motion, timing, and chance. These latest paintings are no exception to this approach. One can see by the materiality of her work that she enjoys the play between 2D and 3D worlds. Following the traumatic events of the Japan tsunami of 2011, Mari descended to her studio. What emerged was this series of quiet paintings, an embodiment of her chants and meditation suspended in beeswax and graphite. Luke Heimbigner contains his subjects to mountain varietals. His works reflect an intent to answer an internal calling to be near the mountains. His bronze works reveal a beauty of expressionistic, painterly representation in metal. Luke is lead metal chaser at Artworks Foundry in Berkeley. He is also a captain of the foundry pour crew, helps with mold making, and assists in the installation of finished sculptures. At Artworks he met the late Steven De Staebler and worked closely with him as an assistant in the creation of the bronze sculpture for which De Staebler is internationally famous. Trained as a painter, Sakura Haru creates jewelry that reveals a closer more intimate perspective of the sea, as she applies patina in a painterly fashion on her abstracted seashell forms, then inlays bright spots of sparkle with gemstones. Her approach to jewelry is a delicate yet bold balance of color and form. Together Mari, Luke and Sakura present a beautiful look at two of nature's most powerful gifts to humanity and residents of earth. In "Umi to Yama," these artists come together to present works which reveal respect, longings and callings towards these subjects with both intuition and applied intent. Without a doubt, this show resides in the classic camp. - Lonnie Lee, Gallery Director and Artist Representative “My encaustic paintings are created out of a deep sense of the oneness of humankind and nature. Nature is my most intimate contact, my reassurance of ongoing life. Through my paintings I seek to bring experiences of beauty, peace, and healing to a fractured world. We order our lives, building structures, and memories, seeing what frays or falls apart, seeing what remains. I make paintings as an observation of this process. I set the conditions, I influence without predicting the results. With the application of light and heat, new life emerges. In my painting I value the materiality, the process, and the laws underlying the formation of the natural world.” - Mari Marks "This series is a collision of what I was feeling and my impulse to collect using resources from my new surroundings. Looking back, creating this body of work allowed me to reconnect with the solid foundation of home amidst the scenic mountains while living the urban life in the Bay Area. Creating these bronze sculptures led me to understand the profound connection I have with the mountains. Their strength, beauty, and comfort exhilarate the soul." - Luke Heimbigner "I hope that my work will be a treasure to be discovered and worn to remember your personal style that celebrates life and love." - Sakura Haru Together Mari, Luke and Sakura present a beautiful look at two of nature's most powerful gifts to humanity and residents of earth. In "Umi to Yama," these artists come together to present works which reveal respect, longings and callings towards these subjects with both intuition and applied intent. Without a doubt, this show resides in the classic camp. - Lonnie Lee, Gallery Director and Artist Representative
Umi to Yama Range 4 11x43x17, bronze and steel by Luke Heimbigner (2011)