Synthesizer (Valerie Brennan & Chiaki Kamikawa)

Synthesizer is an exhibition of painting and drawing by Valerie Brennan and Chiaki Kamikawa.

Opening February 12th at 7.30 pm by The Ambassador of Ireland Mr. Nicolas Twist.

Valerie Brennan creates striking abstract work in an expressive style. Thick and thin layering of oil paint and the various surface textures reflect the motion of the artist while making the work. The complex work of Chiaki Kamikawa draws attention to our subconscious mind. The dream like scenes unfolds narratives of unknown worlds. Whilst on the surface the two artists don’t appear to have much in common, being stylistically and aesthetically different, both of the artists share a similar approach to their work. Neither begins with a predetermined image, trusting in the process of making and in their own intuition to let an image emerge. Synthesizer allows two radically different artists to add a particular and individual voice to their shared dialogue, to speak in parallel of the myriad possibilities of process driven art and through their differences highlight the common impetus to be ourselves.

Valerie Brennan moved to Cyprus in 1999 to complete a post graduate degree at the Lemba College of art. She has participated in many exhibitions nationally and internationally. She has exhibited at Scope New York and has had solo exhibitions in La Casita Gallery, Mexico City and with The Giampietro Gallery in New Haven and with The Apocalypse Gallery. Her work has also been shown in Parallel Art Space, New York, Central Booking Gallery NYC, The Lowe Mill Art Center in Alabama and with The Wright Gallery Michigan. She recently participated in group exhibitions at The Torrance Museum of Art, California and at The Cape Cod Museum of Art in Boston. Upcoming shows include a group exhibition of contemporary abstraction organized by Alan Klucklow Fine Art in Berkshire, UK. She is also the author of Studio Critical blog, a popular blog that explores contemporary painting practices. In 2014 she founded Studio Apothiki in Paphos.

Drawing from a deeply personal vernacular and embracing a process that values joy and unpredictability, for Brennan every panel is an adventure in paint. Immersing herself in the act of painting, she surrenders and what emerges is result of that struggle between the artist and her materials. Brennan describes her process “I like the physicality of paint, to push it around, to play with gesture & accident, the controlled and uncontrolled and the surprises that happen on the way. I do not like to edit the surface or remove what is underneath, I think each manifestation of the work is a vital part of its journey, it marks time and speaks of truth.” Her paintings are a potent mix of energy and emotion but most of all they are filled with the possibilities of play.

Chiaki Kamikawa studied at Edinburgh College of Art in the U.K. and Sandberg Instituut in the Netherlands. Since 2011 she has been running a project space Chiaki Kamikawa Contemporary Art in Paphos in Cyprus, showing her works as well as organising exhibitions. Her work is exhibited in National Art Center (Tokyo, Japan), Drawing Center (NY, USA), Kunstvereniging Diepenheim (Diepenheim, The Netherlands), and BankART NYK (Yokohama, Japan). Recently she co organised and participated in Paper trails/Paper Tales at The Phytorio, Nicosia.

Chiaki Kamikawa intends to create a new world with symbolism in her work; the world with new order, ideas and language. This new world is composed of images which explore the realm of reality and fantasy and these images refer to various subject matters ranging from dream, history, to personal experiences. In her work, everyday objects, architecture, landscape and human and non-human figures are juxtaposed, and then they are carefully and intricately reconstructed to constitute new irrational scenes. Kamikawa is interested in the narrative role and symbolism of religious art, objects and architecture in both Eastern and Western religion. Her work often suggests religion-related objects and rituals such as altars, offerings, gatherings and worshipping scenes which embrace new metaphor.

Visiting Hours
Daily: 10:30 - 13:00 & 16:30 - 20:00
Saturday: 10:30 - 14:00