Form and Content Gallery presents Chemistry and Glue, an exhibition of new work by Jon Neuse and Ellie Kingsbury.

Jon Neuse and Ellie Kingsbury have not been slowed by the pandemic, in fact they have taken the opportunity to consider the power of curiosity and inquiry as an endless expanse of possibilities. Both artists, with studios in the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art, work independently with their loose methodologies and continually ask what more they can do with their mediums. Neuse has reworked old paintings and monotypes, and Kingsbury has taken expired photographic paper to a new dimension.

They are both intrigued by seeing how formal artistic principles are reconciled. In each of their work they share a process of evaluating line, mass, color, value, and subject, using their preferred tools and materials. Experimentation is the life-force of their creativity, always asking what’s next while not asking what anything means.

Artist’s Biography
JON NEUSE

Playfulness, experimentation and judgement are the principles behind my art. I begin all work whimsically not knowing how the work will look in the end. I experiment to make the visual relationships taut, and I constantly evaluate if formal artistic elements resolve themselves into lasting relationships.

In these collages I attempted to create a counterpoint to Ellie’s experimental work. I worked with oil stick and pieces of old paintings and prints glued to black paper, while she worked with white photo paper and chemicals. My work is more geometric and less organic than hers.

I have been represented nationally in galleries from Connecticut to San Francisco and Chicago to Santa Fe. I have been in many solo and group exhibitions in area galleries, including the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, the Phipps, the old Circa Gallery, and the Traffic Zone Gallery.

ELLIE KINGSBURY

My goal is to stretch the capacity of photographic paper to new ends, not to create an “image”. Working without a negative, I strive for pure abstract form. Sharp contrasty edges sit alongside muffled tones, creating a rather galactic look.

I have used photography as my principle art form for the past 40 years, and am currently incorporating mixed media into my projects. I am a recipient of the McKnight Fellowship and twice recipient of the Artist Initiative grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board. I have shown both nationally and internationally, including group exhibitions in Beijing, Helsinki, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Portland Oregon. I have had several solo exhibitions, including the Bloomington Center for the Arts, Cameraworks Gallery, the Vine Arts Center.

Exhibition Dates: January 27 - March 5, 2022

In Person Artist Reception: Out of concern for the Omicron variant, we are switching our opening artist reception to a closing reception. Please join us: March 4, from 6:00-8:30 P.M.

Regular gallery hours will be unchanged, Thursdays-Saturdays, 12:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

Artist Conversation: Virtual gallery tour with pre-recorded artist talk will be made available on the Form + Content website by February 4, 2022

Exhibition Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm
Appointments are not required. If you wish to visit outside of gallery hours please email formandcontent@gmail to make an appointment.

Individual pieces and a short artists’ discussion can be found online here

/chemistry-and-glue