"Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece," penned Ralph Waldo Emerson. This theme chimes throughout the upcoming exhibition Bazzle/Brown-Epstein/Jones: Alumni in the Arts, opening at the University Art Museum this weekend.
The exhibition will highlight the current works of renowned University alumni Kenneth Bazzle, James Jones and Cary Brown-Epstein. In a year that has emphasized a variety of artistic genres and styles, the U.Va. Art Museum once again draws attention to talented artists with ties to the University community.
Jones, who earned his B.A. from the University in 1983, draws inspiration from southern landscapes. With his work concentrating on the "spiritual extremes" of beauty and despair, Jones has expressed the triumph of beauty through his paintings. Many of his works depict marsh landscapes or coastal scenes, emphasizing Jones's lifelong relationship with "the secrets of nature."
Working in a variety of mediums, Jones is currently working on sculptures which express the reflective despair nature endures. As a life-long conservationist, Jones has focused his sculptures on nature's dark side.
"Evolutionary fact sometimes becomes amixed with anthropomorphic allusion, in a cornucopia of life forms gone wrong," Jones said.
With sculptures ranging from images of human forms created with concrete or fur to expressions of animal suffering, Jones ultimately uses his work to question the inhumane, beastly behaviors of humans.
Brown-Epstein also explores the converse qualities of nature in her artistic career. Earning her B.A. from the University in 1984, Brown-Epstein went on to study at the New York Academy of Art. "During that time, I desperately missed the country so I began painting made-up landscapes in my studio," Brown-Epstein said.
After moving back to Charlottesville, she was able to return to nature, even painting in en-plein-air style with oils and watercolors à la her former professor Richard Crozier.
After experiencing a life-threatening moment, however, Brown-Epstein found herself questioning the meaning of both life and the nature she grew up loving.
"I felt a need to take a closer look - a need to really feel and see life and death. My appetite grew for the answer to that big question: What is this all about?" Brown-Epstein said.
Utilizing the art of Polaroid emulsion, Brown-Epstein began exploring deeper meanings of nature -- drawing from Emerson, Annie Dillard and Loren Eiseley. Polaroid emulsion lift processes include boiling a dried print until the images begins to separate from its backing. After rubbing off the image, it is left in a jelly-like, emulsion version of the original. It is then manipulated onto a Mylar sheet and transferred onto wet watercolor paper.
"Through the process I began to consider the spirit in these objects -- the light, the love, the energy, the beauty, the magic -- in essence, the truth," Brown-Epstein said. "Then I'd sit back and let the piece speak to me. A story evolved; I would see it, hear it and then go in with color, form and sometimes words and bring the piece to life."
Bazzle, who graduated from the University in 1953, has pursued art as an avocation while owning DeMaximus Inc. Focusing his art on inspirations from Richard Diebenkorn and similar artists, Bazzle has also impacted the University community through generous donations for the construction of a new music building.
While all University alumni have significant links to the University community, these alumni have found ways to impact University students and Charlottesville residents through their interpretations of nature and the profound impact human nature has upon it.
Bazzle/Brown-Epsstein/Jones: Alumni in the Arts runs from April 21 through June 3 at the U.Va Art Museum.
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