Corporeal Landscape II: A Solo Exhibition by Liz Foulks
february 4 - 26, 2023 at the buster levi gallery in cold spring, ny.
Through a series of black & white paintings derived from a study of classical sculptures, Corporeal Landscape II examines the disorienting experience of shifting familiar sights into otherworldly contexts. Using the most familiar and personal of forms – the human body – as a source of manipulation, these paintings play with the viewer’s eye through surprising transformations of arms, legs, fingers, and other bodily forms.
GALLERY VIDEO
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GALLERY VIDEO —
Full video of the gallery space.
“CALVES MORPH INTO COLLARBONES, ELBOWS INTO KNEES, THIGHS INTO FOREARMS. THERE ARE ANCHOR POINTS OF REALISM PAIRED WITH ABSTRACT FORMS, WHICH COAXES VIEWERS TO DECIDE WHAT THEY PERCEIVE AS REAL AND UNREAL.”
Corporeal Landscape II is comprised of 4 different painting systems within the gallery.
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The centerpiece is a hexaptych; 6 separate panels measuring at 3 x 4’ each, which reside directly adjacent to each other to create a 3 x 24’ arrangement in total. Though mainly in black & white, there are instances of alizarin crimson & phthalo blue incorporated into the shadows and warm beige into the highlights.
CORPOREAL LANDSCAPE II: HEXAPTYCH DETAIL. ACRYLIC PAINT ON BASSWOOD PANEL. 3X4’ EACH; 3X24’ IN TOTAL.
At the front end of the gallery is a set of 4 mini paintings, which focus on color and abstraction within a small field.
CORPOREAL LANDSCAPE II: VIRIDIAN, IRIS, CARMINE, AND AZURE DETAILS. ACRYLIC PAINT ON BASSWOOD. 4X4” EACH.
At the tail end of the gallery are 2 narrow pieces and one 16x20” painting.
CORPOREAL LANDSCAPE II: clavicle. ACRYLIC PAINT ON BASSWOOD. 16x20”
CORPOREAL LANDSCAPE II: sinew & swathe. ACRYLIC PAINT ON BASSWOOD. 1x4’
“I WANTED TO EXPLORE THE IDEA OF A NARROW LENS WITHIN THE CORPOREAL LANDSCAPE CONCEPT. WHAT UNFOLDED WAS A DENSER & MORE SINEWY COMPOSITION WITHIN THE TWO SETS. THEY SIT DIRECTLY OPPOSITE TO THE HORIZONTALLY-FOCUSED HEXAPTYCH, WHICH FURTHER PUNCTUATES THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS.”
Press
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Read the full article here.
The linear space at the Buster Levi Gallery in Cold Spring will soon be divided by six 3-feet-by-4-feet panels, adjacent to each other and meeting in a corner, as part of a show by painter Liz Foulks that opens Feb. 4.
“It helps with the depth,” she explains. “These panels will be a large and prominent part of the exhibition, plus there will be vertical, narrow paintings. There will also be a few small pieces, providing contrast, particularly in color.”
Foulks considers the panel paintings a “new investigation” into a theme she explored in an earlier show at the Ildiko Butler Gallery in Manhattan when she shared a series of charcoal drawings based on variations of the human figure, “mostly sourced from classical sculptures and the emotional tenor of Romanticism,” she says.
Foulks, who works as a creative director at an advertising tech firm, says she is excited to return to a concept she calls “corporeal landscape.” It involves mixing “anchors of realism” with anatomically fictionalized parts. “That’s what makes the pictures powerful,” she says. “I love painting anatomical forms — there’s so much detail and structure and contrast in the ligaments.”
Foulks, who grew up in Mahwah, New Jersey, says she knew early in life she would be an artist. “I found a lot of passion in it,” she says. At Fordham University, where she studied visual arts, she took drawing classes and “explored the body a lot, evolving into more of an abstract take on it. It has led to skills that have flourished over time.”
She has a side gig creating custom portraits of people and pets. After a break from painting, she says she began painting animals on commissions as a way to re-introduce herself to the art. “The graphic design [at her day job] lets me tap into a different way of thinking, while painting pushes me to put physical energy into the work, so I can pour myself into it,” she says.
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Read the full piece here.
Buster Levi Gallery is pleased to present Corporeal Landscape II, by Liz Foulks at 121 Main Street in Cold Spring, New York. The exhibition will run from February 4 through February 26, 2023.
The paintings in Corporeal Landscape II are a new investigation of a theme explored in a series of charcoal drawings exhibited at the Ildiko Butler Gallery in New York City. The drawings were based on variations of the figure, mostly sourced from classical sculptures and the emotional tenor of Romanticism. They were assembled into one large work measuring 2.5 x 20 feet. The works in Corporeal Landscape II, six separate panels measuring 3x24’, are executed in acrylic paints instead of charcoal allowing Foulks to create more nuanced depictions of form and add subtle color notes to the work.
Though based on the same subject, there are clear differences between the works. Technically, the drawings were created using black charcoal to create shadows and the values in between. The paintings in Corporeal Landscape II use a dark ground made by applying multiple layers of black gesso and then bringing the highlights out of the shadows. Another difference is the amount of exaggeration in the figures overall. Both works employ enlargements of the figure, however in the paintings there is more exaggeration of the figures and body parts as well as increased focus on detail that is also exaggerated. Foulks in a written statement explained her intention; “Corporeal Landscape II examines the disorienting experience of shifting familiar sights into otherworldly contexts. Using the most familiar and personal of forms – the human body – as a source of manipulation, this large piece plays with the viewer’s eye through surprising transformations of arms, legs, fingers, and other bodily forms.” In discussing her use of exaggeration she writes: “Calves morph into collarbones, elbows into knees, thighs into forearms. Thickly-contrasted tendons and ligaments – some anatomically fictional – produce a deeply graphic quality. Empty voids engulf portions of the body, yielding a surreal push-and-pull effect. Overall, this bodily landscape coaxes viewers to decide what they perceive as real and unreal.” Corporeal Landscape II is a powerful work that will engage the viewer on multiple levels that include rigorous realism, emotional intensity and intricate compositional vitality.
For any inquiries about the show or the artwork, submit a form below.
GALLERY OPENING
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GALLERY OPENING —
EVENT PHOTOS BY KIERAN BUTTRICK.
