i.e. is pleased to welcome Drie Chapek for her 3rd exhibit with us.

April 1st - May 1st
artist reception : Saturday April 2nd, 3 - 5 pm
artist talk : Saturday April 30th, 5:30 pm at i.e. gallery

Chapek is a powerful painter who walks the tightrope between abstract and representational work. She gives us urgent swipes of impasto alongside delicate washes of oil, juxtaposes light pastel tones against the deep mysterious darks. In past exhibits she has taken us places with just the unnamed forces of the play of these techniques; building a crescendo, a moment, a memory. This latest work brings the real architecture into the space, an old cathedral, the corner of your living room, the shop down the street. Chapek's work has always been about movement. And dualism. She grew up raised by separated parents who lived states apart. There is room for all of this. Chapek convinces us with this new work.

 

Artist Statement
“A Way”

I begin my practice of making by sitting in quiet and the present. My mind will begin to move through thoughts. I often find while I explore my own thoughts about current life I also jump through portals to escape strong feelings. History, architecture, interior and exterior, as well as vast landscapes often appear as an escape to pleasure for me.
This series is allowing space to be with the present moment as well as giving an opening to move into imagined pleasure. This process of having an awareness of my current struggles then slipping into pleasure allows me to return to the present with a soothed nervous system. The reward to this practice is that I am better able to navigate current issues at hand with the pleasure, even if imagined, in my body.

Drie Chapek