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KATONAH, NY It may seem hard to believe that figures built from tree parts and illogically structured graphite drawings would have anything in common with each other. But the Katonah Museum of Art proves this month that whats common to both the collective mixed media works of Stephen Talasnik's Elusive Landscape and Joseph Wheelrights Tree Figures is a provocative design that draws in passersby to take a closer look.
For one, Talasniks work gives a nod to the Surrealist movement in the figures and places that are uncomfortably reminiscent and yet outside ones lived experience, said Sarah E. Lawrence, a Professor of Design History at Parsons New School of Design.
Studying the different works lining the walls of Talasnik's show, viewers will be able to identify with this emotion. When they see Dome, for example, some may be reminded of the outline of a Ferris wheel in its multi-dimensional, spinning design. The immaculately detailed blend of liquid graphite, graphite and ink on paper then seems to give way to deeper layers.
[The work] draws viewers in by having them take more time to look than they thought they wouldits like a whole different world [inside each piece], added the Director of Curatorial Affairs, Nancy Wallach.
Conversely, Wheelright's exhibition calls an eerie living presence to the nature one comes across every day. In the larger-than-life figures built entirely from tree trunks, bark and branches, viewers are unable to look away.
I remember feeling it as a child, walking up from my bus stop to the dark winter afternoon, being a little terrified to look at the trees in case they already noticed me, he said.
Steven Talasnik's exhibition, Elusive Landscape, and Joseph Wheelright's show, Tree Figures, will remain on display until Sept. 18 at Katonah Museum of Art.
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