How Deep Is The Ocean?

Modern Self-Discovery at Art Basel Miami Week -

December 3-5, 2018

Art Basel Miami Beach is one of the world's most successful art events, which takes place at the same time as numerous satellite art fairs in the first week of December. In the heart of Miami Downtown, just a few Metromover stops away from the new Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami River Art Fair reflects the urban landscape of Miami and responds to the city's rapid growth as a cultural destination.

One of the exhibitors at Miami River Art Fair Dr. Barbara Aust-Wegemund, Director at Gallery AHC Projects (booth B1), is invited to curate the group show "How Deep is The Ocean?" Modern self-discovery in Philosophy and Arts. A curated group show with Pioneer Artists. About her concept and intention, the curator and art historian explains:

"The Romantic natural philosophers interpreted the sea as a source of life, continuing in the creation of modern criteria of ethical behavior, which culminates in a new bio-ethics and a new understanding of the sea. The curated exhibition is asking "How deep in the Ocean?" as a philosophical question. Ocean Philosophy delves into aesthetics - the sea as the symbol of the sublime - and modern self-discovery - the sea as a mirror of the soul. The exhibition invites to explore connections between Romantic and Modernity, real and (inner) journeys, identity, infinity and space.

Celebrating international emerging and established artists in Miami, the juried show presents original artworks by Louis Atelouis, Tracy L. Barwick, Khalilah Birdsong, Carole Kohler, Marianna Kupriyanova, KanKan Ramos-Lim, Claudia Mini and Sal Sidner.

The Swiss artist Louis Atelouis developed "Pleat-Art", an absolutely new method for oil paintings on canvas. Louis is an engaged multi level artist, poet, writer, painter, philosoph and smart rebel. Louis' vision "Don't waste your life on realities", is reflected in all his works, whether paintings, books or theatre. His abstractions constantly project new horizons on which he strives forward. Louis Atelouis about his concept: "There are no superiors, because they always assure us that they will stand behind us and lead the way for us. But for that they would have to pass us over, since we are standing in front of them. Or turn left or right to bypass us. But there's no way forward from there either. Anyway, they swear on one another, so there are no more of us. Now that there is no top and bottom, left and right lead into the void, we are standing in front anyway, we could leave everything behind for caution. The only question left is; who is we?" For the curated Miami exhbition Louis created a brand new series, among them the painting "Blue Thing", telling the story that the seas are rising, water is penetraiting, and finally we are mutating into blue beings or suffer with the morbid octopus.

Tracy L. Barwick educated as an engineer, has created artworks that certainly evolved, more like matured, over time. About her intention to create artworks Tracy mentions: "With hometown roots in Dayton, Ohio, I truly believe there is really no other place on planet earth with such an eclectic vibe of arts, museums, history, and culture, a constant source of nutrition that feeds my creativity. My artistic narrative is simple: personify emotions, beliefs and social concerns through ethnic patterns, shadings, mediums across the full spectrum of color. I've always had a creative side, but in the beginning I experimented with so many mediums until a few years ago I found joy with using beads". Considering the subject "how deep is the ocean" reminds me not only to ecological (plastic) problems of our oceans, but also to the famous Ella Fitzgerad and her song "How deep is the ocean?. How high is the sky?" So hope never dies." Tracy L. Barwick's unique work has been shown several times during Art Basel Miami week and in the US. She shared her brilliant art with so many people at UNICEF and Maryland Arts Council.

Khalilah Birdsong: "I am interested in survival and resurgence. Distress, weathering is palpable on the canvas, but so is resurgence. I build layers up and then take them away to create a painting that is, ultimately, whole. The process of layering and stripping builds contusions, bumps and raw ridges, but also reveals patches of older, more forgotten colors. Every painting is an experience through process, which translates to the canvas to create a story that can only be experienced visually. My process is strenuous to the medium. Through it, my paintings achieve resolution." The artist who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business, Minor French, Howard University, Washington D.C. has a rich cultural background and studied French Civilization at Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions in the US, Italy, Japan and is part of public and private collections, among them Martin Luther King, Jr. Natatorium Center and Fulton County Arts & Culture, Permanent Collections both in Atlanta, Georgia and in the private art collection of 44th U.S. President Barack Obama.

Carole Kohler is a visual artist, designer, recycling art activist and traveller, creating abstract paintings, objects and sculptures worldwide. The artist who holds a Diploma in Painting and Design, Art Schhool Biel, and resides in Switzerland is known for her (social) art projects and productions she realized in Thailand, South Africa and Namibia. Her work is influenced by African Bushmen Art and by her art teacher, the Swiss master in Abstract Art, Alexander Jeanmaire. In South Africa, Kohler took friendship to the primatologist and anthropologist Dr. Jane Goodall, who was awarded for UN Messenger of Peace. Together they realized an exhibition project in Germany, Munich, hosted at the Africa House. Carole:"Although I love extremes, creating a balance is important for me. Life and art need contrasts, but it has to balance itself in some way or another. I catch myself again and again, as I tilt like a scale in idea and conception on one side, only to re-settle myself shortly afterwards and to establish a delicate balance. The ability to lose balance is a source of tension for me and challenges me. A stable balance is somehow boring, and yet a balance is an absolute must." Her rich collection of sculptures and paintings has been presented in Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, US (New York) and China.

KanKan Ramos-Lim was born in Manila, Philippines, and is living and working in Manila. In 1996, Kankan graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Advertising. She is also in the marketing world, she heads an advertising agency but continued to pursue her passion for painting, producing various works and participating in several exhibitions. Experimenting with different styles and techniques, Kankan uses her experiences from being a mother and a digital marketer to create her own unique blend of art. Additional she is creating books, mural paintings and abstract paintings. Her work has been shown in public spaces and in galleries in Manila and New York. Kankan uses her artworks to explore identity, relations, and metamorphosis of the self with an approach grounded in observation and  experimentation.

Marianna Kupriyanova was born in Russia, and is currently living in Germany. Marianna holds a Diploma of the Art Academy in St. Petersburg. She is a global citizen and has been living and working in St. Petersburg Russia), Seoul (South Korea) and London (UK). Using mixed media techniques, she explores the concept of her new semi-abstract "Lost Cities" series: "Beauty is symbolizing different impressions of love and life in the new series. When I paint, I am in a good mood, and can open my heart and feelings to express my emotions. So I love colors and, I want to get everything flowing, that the colors are shining in a glossy light. Sometimes I also insert fragments of collages, to focus the memories of my journeys. Anyway, it is not a beauty like in life style magazines, my cities are bright, broken, lost and lovely at the same time."

The Swiss artist Claudia Mini studied Design and earned a Master of Science in Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland. Claudia Mini loves any kind of movement, if in sportive activities, scientic experences, mental movements in yoga sessions or moving fluent lines in her abstract artworks. The passionate artist, who is living in Bern, explains: "Ever since I can remember, I was particularly interested in creativity and using color, words, tunes and movement to produce artworks. My development as an artist was partly self-taught, partly with the help of specific training. During high school, I attended the photography workshop of Viviane Liebherr in cooperation with Michel Comte. From 1998 to 2000 I participated in the screen printing course of Claudio Bischoff (School of Design Bern). For about 15 years, I have been teaching creative design classes at Primary Schools. The painting "Sonnengruss" (sun salutation) is the perfect yoga excercise, a mental training to explore yourself, your inner spaces."

Sal Sidner was born in the UK. She has been living and working in Miami for many years, with travels to the Americas, Asia, Europe and North Africa. Educated in the UK, the US, and Italy, she received her M.Ed, and Ed.S in Education from the University of Florida, did Masters level studies at the University of Venice with New York University, and got a BA in Painting and Printmaking at West of England College of Art (Bristol, UK). Further studies were with various master artists, including the Scuola Lorenzo d’Medici, Charles Cecil Studios (Florence, Italy). Sal Sidner has taught art for many years, in museums (The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami),Art Centers, and currently in Miami Dade County Public Schools.  Prior experience which contributes to her practice includes 20 years as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a lifelong practice of meditation.

Sal Sidner's artworks are part of art museums and collections worldwide, among them, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art (North Miami), Southern Graphics Council, Kate Skipworth Museum. Her work is archived in the Vasari Archive, MDC Public Library. Sal Sidner's work "Inner Rhythm" invites us to listen to our own inner rhythm, reflecting art historian quotations from Indian culture of dancing Krishna to Giotto's Italian Renaissance Frescoes. Her current practice reflects her interest in the Ocean as metaphor for diving into the experience of inner life.

Information

Miami River Art Fair 2018

Miami Convention Center in Miami Downtown
at James L. Knight International Center
400 SE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33131, USA

VIP Collector’s Preview  (VIP Ticket Holders & Press)| December 3,  6 - 11 PM

Fair Hours | Tuesday, December 4, 11 am - 6 pm | Wednesday, December 5, 11 am - 6pm

GALLERY | AHC Projects | Booth B1

Curator Dr. Barbara Aust-Wegemund

Contact AHC

info@arthistoryconsulting.net

AHC PROJECTS - Hamburg - Germany