Call & Response

Maleri til udstillingen Call & Response, Ole Vinter Room, Valby

Call & Response, 2024
Akryl, pigmenter, akrylblæk på bomuldslærred. 40 x 50cm

Gesso-lag på andre lag, på lag af lyse strøg, danner et ubestemt centrum. Lette linjer af grå akryl fortaber sig i et let dække. Grå forsigtige takkede toppe, bærer et spænd, som i en tegneseries skønne bjerge. Her er en masse forenklinger.. venstre side af maleriet er der topografiske linjer i terrakotta, lysorange og en ubestemmelig rød, der er landet i pletter med skyggeformationer. Der er en slags modsvar i maleriets højre side, her som hastige udtværede pletter, der næsten bliver til streger i metallisk orange. Der er en flygtig aftegning af netop dette i det modsatte hjørne, som strejf. Som kollaps, der forsvinder i brunrøde prikker på den vestre kant. Den her opløsning, som når en skyformation transporterer sig, duver i en blå nuance i venstreside af et trekantet 'rum'. Der er hele tiden inddeling, streger med hjælpestreger, med al deres uro, der kan blive til mønster. Eller, som når de tydeligere træder frem, i sort, lidt vaklende, men alligevel med insisteren. Ubestemmelig mørk farve, skvulper fra kar til kar: så bliver det et landskab, så ikke. Eller?
Så er der blålige pletter, der med en dobbelt tilstedeværelse forskyder planet;
forskyder dybden, lidt som et spor i sne.
Ser veje ind i billedet, og ud. Slip.

Går ned ad trappen for at hente noget. Lytter. Nogen siger noget på et andet sprog derude. Mumlen. En kører væk i en bil. Op igen. Væggene her er skrå, ser det nu. Og her er ovenlys.

Lægger mærke til en højspændt bue, en åbning. Der er et besynderligt lys, som var der en mulighed for, at laget under det jeg ser, forsvinder. Igen, diffust lys, som var lyset blevet forvandlet til et nyt materiale. Lige over d&t, ..eller over? Ja. Blålige buer. De følger en opadgående kurve. Man kan heldigvis også tage turen ned igen. Lærredet har et lille bitte ar, der er delvist dækket af en af de sort-grå streger. Igen, omgivet af et ret lyst billed-rum, på hvilket der hviler, eller svæver, en grå sammensat langstrakt form. Under formens mørkeste side, er der en skygge af orange, lidt som et genskær.

Fik du nok nu?

 -Nej. Jeg tager et lag til.

Okay, skriv bagom.

JS August, 2024

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Upon first encountering 'Call & Response', visitors may find it challenging to absorb the installation fully. Composed of various textiles and materials, artist Julie Sass presents a diverse array of media that coalesce into a cohesive site-specific installation.

The installation envelops the visitor, expanding from the west wall to the south and east. It ultimately fades into a collage of copper fragments on the north wall.

The exhibition conveys a sense of being a work in progress. It begins with a piece of black fabric on the right side of the western wall, visually connected to a larger drapery on the left through a fragment of rough, sack-like coarse fabric. Together, these elements appear to form drapes for a window that separates them. These theatrical curtains do not conceal a backstage; instead, they draw our attention to the opening in the wall that leads to Printer's Proof's production floor, which houses the Ole Vinter Room in its office space.

With their folds and volume, the fabric pieces on the west wall resemble abstract paintings, bearing traces of Julie's interventions with colour pigments. Their material qualities allow pigment absorption that differs from traditional painter's canvases. The density of the black pigment used in the textile pieces creates an illusion of a void that captivates the viewer's gaze. A metallic shimmer on the black piece contrasts this. This sizeable abstract shape attempts to follow the upward trajectory of the roof but resists the sharp angle, breaking into a curve reminiscent of forms often seen in Julie's paintings. This curve is echoed by the jute fibre piece, which serves as a construction brick, bridging to the large piece of blue-grey cloth on the left.

The textile's opaque, impenetrable surface and advance towards us give it an almost sculptural quality. It extends upward to create a parallel line with the black fabric on the right. It makes the blank wall space between an integral part of the composition and directs our gaze to the wall hatch,situated just below the rooftop, where a framed abstract drawing awaits. In examining it, we discover a curious symmetry between the yellow stain in the bottom right corner and the fragment of yellow cellophane attached to the top left corner of the window below, whose folds and fringed edges echo the shapes formed by the textiles.

The shapes, colours, and folds of the west wall resonate with the exhibition's compositional elements on the south. Echoes of the chromatic scale, shapes, and textures can be seen in a small acrylic painting on canvas, a textile piece, and a mixed media work on tarlatan. At the same time, new artistic approaches are also introduced. The opacity of the central textile piece is contrasted on either side by Julie's exploration of transparency. Layers of transparent paint form shapes and surfaces in the exhibition's title piece, 'Call & Response'. Transparency is similarly explored in 'Sewn IMAGE', where Julie uses the textile's open structure to incorporate colour through pigment and colourful ribbons that outline the piece.

The ribbons in the small tarlatan piece are mirrored by the yellow zigzagging line that traverses the large cotton canvas on the east wall. Julie's interest in texture and transparency is further highlighted in this work. Applied on gesso, the light blue background serves as a solid backdrop against which thinned paint and pigment are layered. Despite the multiple layers, the pigment does not obscure the underlying layers. This results in an immediacy and lightness of touch that starkly contrasts the exhibition's concluding compositional element, the copper collage on the north wall. A closer examination of the collage reveals, however, the same core interests that guide Julie's artistic practice: a fascination with materiality, colour, and the interplay between foreground and background.

The 10th of September 2024, OZ