"[Palmer] has always used pretty bold colors, but the colors now are brighter. And, she's also choosing that paint color that many artists really steer clear of working in a style as Cathy does of abstraction. And, that's white," says Behrens. "But, when you look at Cathy's you're not looking at blankness…"
Works by Cathy Palmer are currently on display in the Sioux City Art Center Selects exhibition which is on view through June 23rd.
"She was influenced by what's called the Vienna Dioscurides. What that was, was the oldest illustrated book of edible and medicinal plants in existance," says Behrens. "She felt like she needed to translate the drawings in the books into something new. And she drew using her sewing machine and thread and organza, these images of the plants."
"Kind of an unusual thing for us to show in terms of a series of paintings where the paintings themselves have had two different lives," says Behrens. "…[Gardner]'s probably going to keep trying to make all of the paintings that he has, as reflective of who he is at that moment as possible."
Works by Benjamin Gardner are currently on display in the Sioux City Art Center Selects exhibition which is on view through June 23rd.
"Looking at these drawings it really feels like you are inside someplace looking through a window out onto the setting that she has drawn," says Behrens. "…She takes great care in making certain that virtually all tones available to her through the charcoal is in each drawing."
Works by Barbara Fedeler are currently on display in the Sioux City Art Center Selects exhibition which is on view through June 23rd.
"His artworks are really accessible, they are combinations of nostalgia with a little bit of pop thrown in," says Behrens. "But, the more you start to look you recognize that there's a lot more detail than what your eyes first tell you…"
Works by Andrew Kosten are currently on display in the Sioux City Art Center Selects exhibition which is on view through June 23rd.
"The splatters came first and then the drawings came second but that allowed him to pick out just the right size building so that they are incorporated really well into the splatters and sometimes even the tire tracks," says Behrens. "It's a really unusual project and such a creative way to try to connect to where you are. Literally taking the stuff that is in many ways impacting your life at a certain time of the year and converting that into art."
"The expressions that each of these subjects has is natural. It's what we might otherwise, you know, read as blank. It allows us to continue that story with themselves because they're not expressing any strong emotion, they just leave everything up to the viewer," says Behrens. "And that's what really captivated us when we first encountered Kristine's photos and we're really delighted that we can bring these to Sioux City to show what great documentary photography can be".
"Some of the patterns that he creates will start to, I think trigger some things in your brain. And that is conscious on his part," says Behrens. "He recognizes that the complexity of his compositions will require you to really look hard."
"When you realize that it's two sides of the same structure then you start to understand it's more… about our depth", says Behrens. "…There's always another angle. And to see two angles at the same, it really helps solidify that multiple viewings, multiple encounters are required to really understand the complexity of any individual."
"…It's one of those amazing transformations that can happen in the hands of an artist where you take something that you think is just what it is but you're able to transform that into something that is so much more", says Behrens.
