[KANSAS CITY, MO.]- On Thursday, January 21, 2016, Weinberger Fine Art will host an artist reception and discussion for the solo exhibition, NINA IRWIN. The exhibition dates are January 21- February 26.
Intense curiosity and thoughtful resourcefulness are key phrases Nina Irwin uses to describe her process. This is evident in the work in her self-titled show, NINA IRWIN, at Weinberger Fine Art. Irwin’s curiosity drives her to continually experiment, and her constant search for discovery translates into visceral energy in the work. Resourcefulness lends itself to this process.
Throughout childhood, Irwin loved creating art. As she studied many different disciplines in college, she rediscovered in her mid-20s that art was the right path. She has come to realize that she has been interested in most of the same themes her entire life. In 2013, her painting, “The Summery East”, was selected byrenowned art critic Jerry Saltz for the Kansas City Artist Coalition’s Six State River Market Regional Exhibit. He wrote, “I looked for artists who seemed drive(n) to provide some sort of unknown algorithmic reaction to their topic, their medium, material, process, and desires. Artists who were somehow trying to make things that haven’t been seen before, provide a taxonomy into their inner lives, fashion encyclopedic palaces in single works, were interested in the representation of the invisible, the unseen, the unseeable. What shocked me, what thrilled me is that I saw a lot of these kinds of art coming out of the Kansas City area.” Thismarked a level of distinction in her craft. Irwin, currently working from her studio of 14 years in the historic stockyards of Kansas City, continues her artistic journey through the exploration of material and concept.
Irwin’s delicate, dreamlike scapes showcase hints of texture among flowing washes of color. She believes making something beautiful is certainly important but she seeks a deeper level inside her own art. “I strive to convey, through my paintings and sculptures, the actual feeling of a place,” she says, “much more than its physical characteristics.” Below the surface of each piece, Irwin seeks to layer symbolism so the audience can achieve a sense of discovery similar to her own.
A portion of Irwin’s show includes a collaboration with Greg Hack, a reporter and editor for the Kansas City Star, of around 15 pieces of art and poetry. After reading “Haiku in Low Places,” Hack’s book of poetry, she asked him to write some verses to a painting of hers, prompting the collaboration. Irwin and Hack create this series through connected ideas and thoughts. Irwin describes the partnership in the pieces as her “marrying the poetry with the artwork in different ways. The art and poetry are going to be one.”
NINA IRWIN will be on view January 21- February 26, 2016. Please join us for the opening reception January 21 5:30 PM -7:30 PM. Gallery Hours Tuesday-Friday10:00 AM-6:00 PM Saturday 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM.
