In the Sadness of Bourgeois Surroundingsby Jim Condron
Adah Rose Gallery, out of Kensington, Maryland, is once again coming to Miami to show work at Pulse Miami. The gallery is always a highlight at the fair with artists creating provocative work that often differ wildly from one another in form but also form a cohesive aesthetic. The gallery is an excellent fit for Pulse, which features galleries that focus on contemporary artists from around the world. This year Adah Rose Gallery is showing work by: Jessica Drenk, Randall Lear and Jim Condron.
“Jessica is an artist I have shown in the gallery from the beginning and her work is always a great success in Miami. She is an amazing sculptor with a beautiful aesthetic which includes transforming everyday objects back to nature or fossilizing them and freezing them in time. This year we will have Jessica's elegant WAVE sculpture which is made from the very mundane PVC pipes,” says gallery owner Adah Rose. “They are elegantly carved and sanded by hand and placed in a wood frame. The pure elegance of the work is evident in the natural undulations of the wave, the way light hits it in the day as the light changes, and in the references to music, bamboo, porcelain and china. There are references to the oscillations of both sound and natural waves. We will also have Jessica's carved Book Sculptures where she so exquisitely transforms books back to nature by immersing them in wax and carving them.”
Lear, a young MFA from American University in Lancaster, PA, creates playful, colorful work. There is a kinship between his work and Condron.
“Randall's work is beautifully crafted and finished. His large installation A Gaggle of Painted Doohickeys is comprised of many smaller works that are applied with great detail and finesse” she says. “The works are refined and take months of thought and painstaking taping and craft. In the end though...they are funny, engaging, cheerful, bright and intelligent. He is also a painter and we have a wonderful series of diptychs playing with architecture and space.”
“Jessica is an artist I have shown in the gallery from the beginning and her work is always a great success in Miami. She is an amazing sculptor with a beautiful aesthetic which includes transforming everyday objects back to nature or fossilizing them and freezing them in time. This year we will have Jessica's elegant WAVE sculpture which is made from the very mundane PVC pipes,” says gallery owner Adah Rose. “They are elegantly carved and sanded by hand and placed in a wood frame. The pure elegance of the work is evident in the natural undulations of the wave, the way light hits it in the day as the light changes, and in the references to music, bamboo, porcelain and china. There are references to the oscillations of both sound and natural waves. We will also have Jessica's carved Book Sculptures where she so exquisitely transforms books back to nature by immersing them in wax and carving them.”
Lear, a young MFA from American University in Lancaster, PA, creates playful, colorful work. There is a kinship between his work and Condron.
“Randall's work is beautifully crafted and finished. His large installation A Gaggle of Painted Doohickeys is comprised of many smaller works that are applied with great detail and finesse” she says. “The works are refined and take months of thought and painstaking taping and craft. In the end though...they are funny, engaging, cheerful, bright and intelligent. He is also a painter and we have a wonderful series of diptychs playing with architecture and space.”
Randall Lear
Condron, a painter out of Baltimore, uses diverse materials to created 3D wall paintings. His work mixes painting and sculpture.
“His works are much more experimental and improvisational. His work is steeped in art history as is Randall's which I like but you would not necessarily see it in the work and they are not looking for the viewer to see it,” says Rose. “Jim uses a bit of casualism in choosing his materials and responds to color first and texture second. They are an attempt at a mature provisional painting style. A combination of study of the past and a desire for playfulness and incongruity of materials. “
Rose says she likes how the quiet simplicity of Drenk’s work contrasts with the humor and brilliant colors of Lear and Condron.
“I also like that Jim, Jessica and Randall are creating sculptural work with a play of materials in very different ways.” she says.
“His works are much more experimental and improvisational. His work is steeped in art history as is Randall's which I like but you would not necessarily see it in the work and they are not looking for the viewer to see it,” says Rose. “Jim uses a bit of casualism in choosing his materials and responds to color first and texture second. They are an attempt at a mature provisional painting style. A combination of study of the past and a desire for playfulness and incongruity of materials. “
Rose says she likes how the quiet simplicity of Drenk’s work contrasts with the humor and brilliant colors of Lear and Condron.
“I also like that Jim, Jessica and Randall are creating sculptural work with a play of materials in very different ways.” she says.
Scott had never seen work that was so indifferent to the effect it had on those who came to see it by Jim Condron
Rose says that Miami is, of course, an opportunity to sell work but it is also a way to get people to see the work and learn about the gallery.
“I also love talking to people about art. In Miami, thousands of people come through each day which is so exciting compared to the perhaps 10-20 people that might come through the gallery in a week. (more at Openings of course),” says Rose. “I also love meeting and chatting with my fellow gallerists from all over the world and seeing their programs. It is just so cool!”
She says she love the Pulse team and the sense of community they create at their fair.
“They are helpful, warm, fun and very committed to making every one as happy as possible. I think the caliber of my fellow galleries is very high too and I like the work there which is why I choose PULSE,” she says. “I know that it is also critical to meet art consultants, curators and academics who can boost your gallery by choosing to show one of your artists in a show. I have had great luck meeting wonderful art consultants but so far...no curators. Maybe this year!”
Rose says she has good friends in Fort Lauderdale and that Pulse and Art Week in Miami is no more difficult than any other fair. She adds that she only does fairs in areas where she has friends and family to help out.
“I am very lucky in that way!” she says.
Adah Rose Gallery exists because Rose believes in these artists. Getting people to see, to appreciate and purchase contemporary art is a challenge.
“It is difficult to get people to visit the gallery and very few people are genuinely interested in art--let alone contemporary art. I love sitting in my little gallery and seeing the space transformed each month and I am so proud of the work we have shown. When I go to Miami or New York for a fair? You meet people who love art and it reaffirms that art does affect people, that it is important,” says Rose. “I am realistic and know that it is a privilege to show it. Feeding people, housing people and giving people health care is all much more important. In the end though music, poetry, literature, dance and art celebrate our humanity and show the best of us.”
“I also love talking to people about art. In Miami, thousands of people come through each day which is so exciting compared to the perhaps 10-20 people that might come through the gallery in a week. (more at Openings of course),” says Rose. “I also love meeting and chatting with my fellow gallerists from all over the world and seeing their programs. It is just so cool!”
She says she love the Pulse team and the sense of community they create at their fair.
“They are helpful, warm, fun and very committed to making every one as happy as possible. I think the caliber of my fellow galleries is very high too and I like the work there which is why I choose PULSE,” she says. “I know that it is also critical to meet art consultants, curators and academics who can boost your gallery by choosing to show one of your artists in a show. I have had great luck meeting wonderful art consultants but so far...no curators. Maybe this year!”
Rose says she has good friends in Fort Lauderdale and that Pulse and Art Week in Miami is no more difficult than any other fair. She adds that she only does fairs in areas where she has friends and family to help out.
“I am very lucky in that way!” she says.
Adah Rose Gallery exists because Rose believes in these artists. Getting people to see, to appreciate and purchase contemporary art is a challenge.
“It is difficult to get people to visit the gallery and very few people are genuinely interested in art--let alone contemporary art. I love sitting in my little gallery and seeing the space transformed each month and I am so proud of the work we have shown. When I go to Miami or New York for a fair? You meet people who love art and it reaffirms that art does affect people, that it is important,” says Rose. “I am realistic and know that it is a privilege to show it. Feeding people, housing people and giving people health care is all much more important. In the end though music, poetry, literature, dance and art celebrate our humanity and show the best of us.”
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