May 23rd – Martha Rea Baker, Bret Price, Kevin Tolman

In the Abstract

Martha Rea Baker, Kevin Tolman, Bret Price
May 23 through June 7, 2014

In the Abstract

Karan Ruhlen Gallery features the work of three well-established artists to kick off the 2014 art season. The exhibition features New Mexico abstract painters, Martha Rea Baker and Kevin Tolman and California sculptor Bret Price. The group of artists is diverse in their approach to abstraction.

Baker———-Price———-Tolman

Santa Fean, Martha Rea Baker’s paintings deal with the concept of “time”, the passage of time and its effects on our natural world. Whether depicting chronological time, marking the sequential passage of hours, days, seasons or an ancient age glimpsed through excavation, the painting process of adding, subtracting and thoughtful editing is a metaphor for life’s timeline.

Albuquerque artist Kevin Tolman continues to produce inspiring, epic and intimate works. Some appear to be amplified organic forms, while others are cadenced arrangements of linear and geometric shapes.. He builds rich mixed-media abstractions with gestural layers of vibrant acrylic that he applies scratching, scraping and drawing along the way. Tolman’s abstract imagery creates a tension between the illusion of spatial depth and surface paint that is utterly compelling

California artist Bret Price builds heating chambers around large pieces of steel, applying intense heat to manipulate metal to create a sense of softness in his sculpture. The variables of intense heat, size and shape of the raw material produce a wide range of results with a degree of unpredictability. The show will feature his recent series composed of bands of stainless steel joined together in unexpected ways. The shaped rings and bands are welded together to form elegant abstractions in brilliant colors.

“The gallery will be truly transformed with the energy of these three well established artists,” says Ruhlen.