New works from the series titled ‘‘Octave’’, Claire Beynon, and Transient, Jane Mitchell
(Gallery Thirty Three, Wanaka)
According to astronomers, the universe ‘‘sings’’ — pressure waves emitting from a supermassive black hole in the Perseus galaxies have been ‘‘humming’’ in Bflat for perhaps more than 2 billion years. Claire Beynon’s newest collection is born from the idea of that deep galactic song; sound and vibration can affect emotions, and possibly effect change throughout the world and each individual inhabiting it. Each work is based around and ‘‘plays’’ a different note from the Bflat minor scale. Like a musical score scrawled in black ink across a white page, Beynon’s greyscale palette allows the quiet drama of the imagery to resonate into stillness and contemplation. Strikes of light break through the darkness like bursts of inspiration and hope, but the black sections are not simply negative space, a void; the impression is weighty, grounded, and thoughtful.
Sharing the gallery space, Jane Mitchell continues her ‘‘Time Stamp’’ series with Transient. Our existence consists of infinite small moments, some of which pass almost unnoticed, some never forgotten, all of which shape the people we are and who we become. Often, however, we unintentionally become spectators — not just to others’ lives but to our own. In a nod to transient scenes glimpsed from the windows of passing cars and trains, Mitchell situates her paintings behind acrylic scattered with resin ‘‘rain drops’’. Certain details stand out clearly; others are blurred, as we speed past— or simply fail to properly see, hear, and live the stories unfolding around us.