Placeholder
In the long isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, I found an unlikely opportunity for self-reflection that helped me to understand and then overcome a deeply ingrained fear of solitude. The pandemic taught me to find company in isolation, and to rediscover pleasure and playfulness in artmaking.
I found myself exploring the medium of watercolors, with its soothing expression of quietness and intimacy. Watercolor, often used in small scale by naturalists in 19th-century, and women for delicate, floral motifs, is thought to be among the most challenging of techniques due to its inherent fluidity and unpredictability. Its transparency does not allow for mistakes or corrections, and by working in a large-scale format, I noticed my body’s gestures in motion. My self-taught practice involved creating colors from scratch, testing multiple paper surfaces, understanding color layering, and ultimately acquiring speed and confidence. My goal was to gradually increase scale, to match the large-scale formats that define much of my video works and exhibit them according to the highest aesthetic standard of professional gallery display.
Placeholder was an exhibition at The Chazan Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island. Curated by Director Liz Kilduff and Assistant Director Elena Lledo, it features three women artists selected for their extensive professional trajectory. Alongside sculptor Anna Shapiro and ceramicist Susan Matthews. January 13th, 2022. Magaly Ponce's artwork was funded by the Center for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship, Faculty and Librarian Research Grant.
Fames and paper properties: Arches watercolor, white, hot-pressed, 300lb weight.
Two frames 54” x 76” x 2” profile, counter-sunk strainer and ¾” (the measurement of the visible frontal face of the wooden frames, by the depth) wood spacers, built-in french cleat, floater style, which adds space between the artwork and the plexiglass. The artworks is mounted on 100% white cotton rag mat, acid-free coroplast backing board. Strainer backing is the removable secondary frame on the back of the frame. The wood is white maple, stained—or “pickled”— with a white finish to be light and slightly textured. The non-glare TruVue Optimum plexiglass is custom sized to avoid seams, has 99% UV protection, and <1% reflection>.
I found myself exploring the medium of watercolors, with its soothing expression of quietness and intimacy. Watercolor, often used in small scale by naturalists in 19th-century, and women for delicate, floral motifs, is thought to be among the most challenging of techniques due to its inherent fluidity and unpredictability. Its transparency does not allow for mistakes or corrections, and by working in a large-scale format, I noticed my body’s gestures in motion. My self-taught practice involved creating colors from scratch, testing multiple paper surfaces, understanding color layering, and ultimately acquiring speed and confidence. My goal was to gradually increase scale, to match the large-scale formats that define much of my video works and exhibit them according to the highest aesthetic standard of professional gallery display.
Placeholder was an exhibition at The Chazan Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island. Curated by Director Liz Kilduff and Assistant Director Elena Lledo, it features three women artists selected for their extensive professional trajectory. Alongside sculptor Anna Shapiro and ceramicist Susan Matthews. January 13th, 2022. Magaly Ponce's artwork was funded by the Center for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship, Faculty and Librarian Research Grant.
Fames and paper properties: Arches watercolor, white, hot-pressed, 300lb weight.
Two frames 54” x 76” x 2” profile, counter-sunk strainer and ¾” (the measurement of the visible frontal face of the wooden frames, by the depth) wood spacers, built-in french cleat, floater style, which adds space between the artwork and the plexiglass. The artworks is mounted on 100% white cotton rag mat, acid-free coroplast backing board. Strainer backing is the removable secondary frame on the back of the frame. The wood is white maple, stained—or “pickled”— with a white finish to be light and slightly textured. The non-glare TruVue Optimum plexiglass is custom sized to avoid seams, has 99% UV protection, and <1% reflection>.
The Chazan Gallery advertised to the artist community and the public at large via their 1,000-recipient email list in addition to their internal outreach through the Wheeler School media. They issued a press release, as well as produce postcards that will be sent to the 3,000 names on their mailing list. They will also publicize the event on the gallery website, to their 516 followers on Facebook, to 121 followers on Twitter, at Gallery Night Providence (a coordinated statewide event). Their Public Relations office has access to forty journalists as well as contacts in magazines such as Art New England, Artscope, Providence Daily News, The Providence Journal, Rhode Island Monthly, and Motif Magazine. The gallery has frequently placed listings in print publications such as Gallery Guide, Artscope Magazine and Art New England.
