This week, we’re exploring two distinct worlds being shown at the Karin Clarke Gallery through March 29.
First, the textured landscapes of Oregon painter, Mark Clarke. Close your eyes and imagine the tactile sensation of his paint, layers built over time, scraped and glazed, revealing hidden depths. His abstractions, bands of fiery oranges and delicate pastels, are painted emotion, a dance of color that at least for me, resonates deep within. As wife and fellow painter, Margaret Coe says, “He had a keen sense of abstract shapes,” a talent evident in his dynamic collages, where paper becomes a canvas for exploration.
Now, shift gears to the remarkable sculptures of Jud Turner. Feel the weight of the welded steel, the repurposed tools, the fragments of forgotten machines.
His “Rabscuttle” and “Pipkin” rabbits forged from found objects, are a testament to survival. Inspired by the book and movie Watership Down, these figures flee an unseen predator, a thousand dangers lurking in the shadows.
Turner, a self-described “stylized realist,” says, “Animals are a launching point for things that I want to play with.” He transforms cold, static steel into warm, moving forms, breathing life into the unyielding.
And then, “Avila,” a dragonfly perched on a crescent moon, is a tribute to beauty and grace. Picture the delicate wings, the intricate details, the ethereal glow of the embedded moons and stars. This sculpture, a poignant nod to Karin Clarke’s daughter Ava, who loved to dance, captures the fleeting delicacy of life, a flash of a spirit soaring. Turner imbues steel with emotion, a dance of metal and memory, a tangible expression of loss and love.
Two artists, two worlds, both invite you to experience art that moves, that evokes, that resonates. Take a friend and talk about what you love.