Index Art Center presents Dichotomy at the Paterson Art Walk June 13-15, 2014. Dichotomy is a group exhibition exploring the transformation of environment and space by incorporating both large and small scale works by Jonathan Beer, Jose Camacho, Heather Garland, Joseph O’Neal, and Joe Strasser. The show will provide an opportunity to experience the sea change of each painter from a large public viewing space to an intimate enclosure; all under the curation of Colleen Gutwein.
Jonathan Beer is a New York-based artist and writer. Beer was born in New Orleans, Louisiana He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art.. He was awarded a 3rd Year Post Graduate Fellowship at the New York Academy of Art in 2012. Jon is the co-founder of Art-Rated, and is a contributing writer for The Brooklyn Rail, ArtWrit, and Art Observed. jonathanbeer.com
Jose Camacho was born in Puerto Rico and was encouraged by his teachers to pursue his art from a young age. Jose studied painting and drawing at the Art League in Old San Juan, and graduated from Montclair State University after studying with Miriam Beerman. Jose has received fellowships from the NJ State Council of the Arts and the Brodsky Center. Jose currently works as the director of the Midland Gallery in Montclair, NJ. josecamacho.com
Heather Garland was born in Pontiac MI and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received an MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and a BFA from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Garland is a classically trained oil painter who uses this training selectively. On entering her studio on can see that she is interested in using whatever materials are necessary to achieve psychological effect. Aesthetics and emotion bear equal weight in her work that is grounded in the diaristic and obsessive. heatherelizabethgarland.blogspot.com
Joseph O’Neal Joseph O’Neal claims home as North Carolina and works in Brooklyn, NY and Newark, NJ, Joseph creates a transcendental dialogue through a system driven by the archaic. Symbols, phonetics, and imagery come descendent from a past that, in the words of Motherwell, “…could only have been conceived of at present.” In O’Neal’s words; “The work consists of two variables: the problem and the resolution. Both variables are present in the end result, like the shaking of hands at a peace treaty. The handshake dissolves my relevancy.” josephoneal.com
Joe Strasser believes his environment has a lot to do with his work. The artist has relocated a great deal moving from the suburbs of New Jersey; to living in a van on the beach in Hawaii; to a campground in Woodstock, NY; to Miami, FL; and now residing in Brooklyn.
According to Strasser; “It has taken me over 20 years to completely paint what I want. My work is mostly about using found material and placing it in a new context and giving it new life. This creates a certain kind of poetry with the found detritus. I also believe sex and death should always be present in a piece. There’s a Dionysian Apollonian pull of divine inspiration and the latticework of coincidence. “ bluetan.com