The World is Flat

January 6th - 27th

Opening Reception

Saturday January 6th 6-8 pm

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The word painting conjures an image of a two-dimensional canvas on the wall. However the definition of what makes a painting has changed. Paintings are no longer confined to a canvas. Painters have ventured beyond paint as the primary medium and choose mediums that best express their concepts. The artists featured in this exhibition, Bruce Campbell (Philadelphia), Chris Lawley (England), Ben Will (Philadelphia) and Mauro Zamora (Philadelphia), are using painterly techniques and addressing the formal issues of paintings, but have rejected the rectangle to create work that leaves the wall and invades the viewer's space. The world is no longer flat.

Bruce Campbell's work recreates painterly mark making in the third dimension. He uses yarn to create paintings on the wall that have no need for a canvas. The line and flow of the yarn allows the artist to recreate painterly lines and movement, but its use allows the work to enter the viewer's space. Campbell struggles with the constraints of the title “sculptor” or “painter” and chooses the medium which best expresses his concept.

Chris Lawley is particularly interested in the gap between the urban and rural, often examined in film through the metaphor of the suburb or road. Lawley's paintings serve as an ossuary, using discarded stereo equipment to represent the bones of urban decay. The Remote Part depicts a landscape which includes the unwanted objects that might be found there. His work plays a crucial conceptual role in this exhibition by questioning the role of a landscape painter in the 21st century. His paintings include sculptural elements, yet operate as a formal painting in that they are presented against a wall and therefore have a fixed viewpoint.

Mauro Zamora's new piece combines painting, video and installation. A trained painter, Zamora realized that the canvas was preventing his work from becoming a true environment. The Surrender explores how a piece painted directly on the wall incorporating objects and video allows the viewer to enter rather than just observe the environment. This piece depicts a drive-in movie theater surrounded by macabre images of war and destruction highlighted by a digital animation of the words “Be Aware Beware” repeatedly scrolling across the movie screen.

Ben Will's sculptural piece, Burst, is a reaction to the practice of painting and a response to the limits of image making in two-dimensions. At the center of this piece is a three dimensional explosion created out of colored duct tape and cardboard which successfully imitates the marks of painting. The piece explodes outward with tendrils ending in small abstractions of human forms. In the center of the explosion lies a dark cave. Empty and mysterious, it is both the cause of explosion and the result.


	January 6th - 27th Opening Reception Saturday January 6th 6-8 pm Check out our articles in: and The word painting conjures an image of a two-dimensional canvas on the wall. However the definition of what makes a painting has changed. Paintings are no longer confined to a canvas. Painters have ventured beyond paint as the primary medium and choose mediums that best express their concepts. The artists featured in this exhibition, Bruce Campbell (Philadelphia), Chris Lawley (England), Ben Will (Philadelphia) and Mauro Zamora (Philadelphia), are using painterly techniques and addressing the formal issues of paintings, but have rejected the rectangle to create work that leaves the wall and invades the viewer's space. The world is no longer flat. Bruce Campbell's work recreates painterly mark making in the third dimension. He uses yarn to create paintings on the wall that have no need for a canvas. The line and flow of the yarn allows the artist to recreate painterly lines and movement, but its use allows the work to enter the viewer's space. Campbell struggles with the constraints of the title “sculptor” or “painter” and chooses the medium which best expresses his concept. Chris Lawley is particularly interested in the gap between the urban and rural, often examined in film through the metaphor of the suburb or road. Lawley's paintings serve as an ossuary, using discarded stereo equipment to represent the bones of urban decay. The Remote Part depicts a landscape which includes the unwanted objects that might be found there. His work plays a crucial conceptual role in this exhibition by questioning the role of a landscape painter in the 21st century. His paintings include sculptural elements, yet operate as a formal painting in that they are presented against a wall and therefore have a fixed viewpoint. Mauro Zamora's new piece combines painting, video and installation. A trained painter, Zamora realized that the canvas was preventing his work from becoming a true environment. The Surrender explores how a piece painted directly on the wall incorporating objects and video allows the viewer to enter rather than just observe the environment. This piece depicts a drive-in movie theater surrounded by macabre images of war and destruction highlighted by a digital animation of the words “Be Aware Beware” repeatedly scrolling across the movie screen. Ben Will's sculptural piece, Burst, is a reaction to the practice of painting and a response to the limits of image making in two-dimensions. At the center of this piece is a three dimensional explosion created out of colored duct tape and cardboard which successfully imitates the marks of painting. The piece explodes outward with tendrils ending in small abstractions of human forms. In the center of the explosion lies a dark cave. Empty and mysterious, it is both the cause of explosion and the result.