Jeff Kellar and Emi Ozawa
Serious Play
January 7 – February 19
Press Release
Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to present Serious Play, a two-person exhibition by Jeff Kellar and local Albuquerque favorite Emi Ozawa. Organic colors and lusciously sanded surfaces come to life through painting and sculpture within this show. Kellar and Ozawa create artworks that are engaging, elegant, and play with viewer’s perspective.
Jeff Kellar uses incised hard edge lines to create illusionary architectural compositions that appear to warp off the walls, toying with viewers perception. With a nod to Malevich, these paintings are minimal without severity and are softened by the presence of the artist’s hand within the work. His handsomely crafted surfaces comprises of many layers of burnished clay pigment and resin. At first glance, Kellar’s paintings may appear straightforward, but these sensuous paintings have a very material presence.
Emi Ozawa makes kinetic artworks that evoke curiosity and whimsy. Trained as a woodworker, Ozawa engineers birch and maple sculptures that move via cranks, levers, contact, and gravity. Like Kellar, Ozawa shares a keen interest on surface and her boxes gleam with a burnished finish that obscures any evidence of their media. Ozawa dismisses basic “do not touch” gallery visitor principals and extends an invitation to touch via the draw of surface inquiry and by curiosity of function. These elegant interactive objects are clearly intended to be played with.
Jeff Kellar studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He lives and works in Maine. Emi Ozawa was born in Tokyo and went to school for fine art in Japan and later at the Rhode Island School of Design. She currently resides in Albuquerque.
High-resolution images are available on request. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook: @levygallery
Dates: January 7–February 19, 2011
Reception: February 19, 6–8 pm
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–4 pm
Location: 514 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Contact: 505.766.9888, info@levygallery.com, www.levygallery.com @levygallery