Bowery Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings by Janet Gorzegno. The show runs May 22- June 16. Souls at Dawn is Janet Gorzegno’s fifth solo exhibition at Bowery Gallery.
Janet Gorzegno explores the liminal and transitional in her paintings for Souls at Dawn. This collection of richly nuanced works in gouache on paper points to the spiritual dimension of human experience, with the recurring motif of the human head appearing as a symbol of consciousness. Inspired by the shimmering moment when night meets day, Gorzegno’s work invites contemplation on themes of awakening, death and transformation.
Crossing, Gouache on Paper 10 x 10 inches 2018
The personages depicted in this mysterious yet captivating group of paintings seem at once ancient and contemporary, individual and universal. Discovering their form from within, Gorzegno invents the heads for her paintings from imagination, yet some seem to possess distinct personalities or missions as compassionate emissaries, guides or figures from mythology.
Lotus, Gouache on Paper 4 x 4 inches 2018
Shown mostly in profile, the heads in Gorzegno’s paintings seem wrapped in stillness, as if attending a shift in consciousness that has not yet happened but is about to occur. In most works, the head form is the central focus, while in others the scene is more expansive as a visual metaphor for the space inhabited by dreams or meditative states. Some of the works comprise multiple heads that seem in communication with one another.
Gaia, Gouache on Paper 6 x 6 inches 2017
Parvati, Gouache on Paper 6 x 6 inches 2018
Gorzegno’s paintings fully embody their subject, inspired in part by the sacred art tradition of icon painting. Although not based in any particular canon of icon creation, several of Gorzegno’s works are “icon-like” as they explore the thresholds of visual tension between naturalistic portrayal and vivid abstraction (an icon is at its best when the opposite poles of intellect and sensation find balance).
Awakening, Gouache on Paper 13.75 x 18 inches 2018
As Gorzegno tenderly paints her faces via subtle permutations of light, her bold jewel-like geometries connect the ethereal with the concrete. In her essay, Everything Shines as it Disappears, author Britanni Sonnenberg has written on Gorzegno’s work: “The heart, it seems, has risen to the head”.
Dreaming While Awake, Gouache on Paper 10 x 10 inches 2017
Gorzegno’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in numerous juried and invitational shows. Her abiding interest in sacred art forms has led her to engage in hands-on study of icon writing and Thangka painting with Master practitioners. She studied visual art at Drew University and the New York Studio School, and received her MFA in Painting from Yale University. She currently lives in Mississippi where she teaches drawing and painting as a Professor of Art for The University of Southern Mississippi.
Soul at Dawn Gouache on Paper 6 x 6 inches 2018
Charon Gouache on Paper
Soul communication Gouache on Paper
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Janet Gorzegno will be at Bowery Gallery on Wednesday, June 13th at 6:30pm for a conversation about her current exhibition Souls at Dawn. All are invited!
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Gallery hours are 11am to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, please contact the gallery at 646-230-6655 or info@bowerygallery.org
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