Subconscious Wilderness

Lee, me, and Gonzalez

Subconscious Wilderness showed a series of drawings by Michelle Lee and Celina Gonzalez. Both artists focused on natural forms and added dark elements that sit. They approached the same subject matter in different ways and their personalities shone through. Their reception was on Thursday February 9 from 5:30-8 pm. February 10 was their last day.

Michelle Lee, Sarracenia Purpurea, Pen

Spores by Michelle Lee

Michelle Lee's work consistently had an upward and floaty feeling. One of the pieces of a tilandsia plant had a human like quality. The leaves wrapped around the body of the plant like the arms of a person hugging itself. The visual weight of her pieces had a well grounded bottom with larger forms anchoring the smaller forms that shrank as they moved up on the page. This is evident in her piece titled "Spores." There was a lot of movement in the line work, a smooth whiplash line similar to Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations from the Art Nouveau period. The lines within the work of Lee were a bit more graceful and smoke like compared to Beardsley. He also focused on the grotesque, decadent, and the exotic that is a very similar theme to Lee's work with cat skulls, mushrooms, and exotic plants and flowers.

All framed except one which was
the most intriguing because
it was easiest to see

Not Natural by Celina Gonzalez emphasized the usage
of strong directional brushstrokes and aggressive lines.

Celina Gonzalez's work has an outward movement from a central point. Whether it be something crawling out of or the leaves branching out from a central node, the key to her work is this central focal point. She has an edgy and grungy feel with her thick and aggressive strokes of ink. Compared to Lee's sweeping lines, Gonzalez's lines had a straight forwardness alongside the central composition that emphasizes one's own self. The glass on the framed images was very reflective and a bit distracting but it also allows for the viewer to see themselves within the piece.

Special shoutout to Mayra for taking this squad photo
(we realized at that moment that we were all matching)