The title of the show, Approaches to Abstraction, describes the variety of the pieces in Dave Voelpel’s show.  The media of the pieces range from acrylics, oil, watercolor, collage, and mixed media.  These seemingly diverse pieces are tied together through layers and the theme of landscapes.  In the piece to the left (Voelpel has not titled any of the pieces in this show), there are at least three abstract landscapes combined into one painting. The horizontal layers contain the possibility of multiple landscapes stacked vertically within the picture plane.  There are also translucent layers that add depth to the images.  These physical, tactile, textural layers are complemented by layers that are constructed for composition or to provoke thought.

Most of Voepel’s paintings are spontaneous and en plein air (painted outdoors). Instead of carefully composing before he paints, he chooses items for his collages out of a bag.  “Every piece is new, fresh, and original,” says Voelpel, when discussing his process.  When he is working on an acrylic abstract painting, he uses both, additive and subtractive approaches. He treats the paint in a variety of ways with the result that it emulates watercolor, glaze, and sometimes encaustic.  Voelpel does not include titles with his pieces so that viewers can interact with the image without being influenced by a title.

The opening for the exhibit is April 2, 2010 from 6:00 – 10:00.  The show will be in place April 3rd through April 24th by appointment only.  To make an appointment, call Dave Voelpel at 317-345-3426.

Five Seasons Studio Gallery
1125 Brookside Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46202
April 2, 6pm

Detail of a piece that has a Newspaper comic page as a base with collaged faces and translucent layers of acrylic paint.

This small piece has an encaustic appearance with depth created by subtle use of white. The layers of white give an atmospheric appearance.

This month had a pleasing array of good art shows in the downtown gallery scene of Indianapolis, Indiana.  I started off my evening by visiting wUG LAKU’s STUDIO & gARAGE.  The current show is a representation from Wug’s earlier work, and is entitled “Raw.”  The developments of his ideas concerning his investigation into nature and language are shown through several unfinished sketches and early paintings. The early paintings are different from the digitally manipulated photographs of his more recent work, and yet somehow they seemed the same.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) a First Friday is also a time of socialization, and I did not delve into the art show as much as it deserved.  There are deep questions, thoughts, and art making going on in the garage.

From there I ran into a show by another artist I know, Dave Voelpel.  Dave does abstract landscape paintings and had his show in the Five Seasons Studio Gallery.  Lately he has incorporated the palate knife into his work giving long soft strokes in his thick paint.  I have seen paintings of his where he has used a variety of things to thicken the paint…even coffee grinds!  Dave Voelpel also had a few collages on display.  It was interesting to see the designs he made with his patchwork of recognizable images.

The final stop in the circle city complex was at Matthew Davey’s new studio.  The studio was sparse, but had a few nice figurative works in it.  There were two drawings of female nudes on one wall, a huge (10 feet? by 6 feet?) painting against one wall, another drawing on a third wall and a medium sized sculpture set up in an adjoining room.  This little adjoining room was set up reminiscent to me, as a shrine.  The sculpture (Lily, Lily, Rose) was sharply lit from the front (which was disappointing to someone who wanted to study it from all angles, but provided excellent, sharp lighting for the front of the sculpture), and there was soft music playing in the background.  It was a wonderful, detailed bronze sculpture of a nude woman with her arms above her head and her face cast upward.  It was set upon a pedestal that is reminiscent of a nail.  Around the foot of the pedestal was a pile of smooth rocks.  It was beautiful.