FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jovi Schnell: Entwined with the Vine
December 15, 2007 - January 19, 2008
Opening reception: Saturday, December 15, 2-5PM
Gallery Hours: Tuesday � Saturday, 10:30-5:30 PM
Email: info@gregorylindgallery
Gregory Lind Gallery is proud to present Entwined with the Vine, a solo show by artist Jovi Schnell, composed of gouache works on paper, panel, a mobile, and collaged wood cut-out paintings. In this body of work, Schnell�s deft and playful fusion of biology, physics, technology, spirituality, myth, and narrative is the basis of her holistic backdrop, as she examines human relationships to culture, history, nature, language, desire, and invention. Schnell�s pieces can be seen as both microcosmic and macrocosmic, as they serve as symbolic explanations of the inner life juxtaposed against the external world.
Schnell�s pieces exemplify a mergence of old and new, in which the concepts of progress and evolution are demarcated by forms drawn from ancient mysticism to modern science. Iconography such as the mythological/spiritual symbol of the Tree of Life can be seen throughout some of her works, intertwining narratives that probe life�s mysteries and paradoxes. Pieces like �Once a nations consciousness decided to lightly tread as though to give pause would lengthen Ariadne�s Thread" recollects the wisdom of the native American Iroquois confederacy, whose acts of governance engaged foresight in how their decisions would impact future generations. Interconnected with the labyrinthine metaphor found in the Grecian myth of Ariadnes Thread, the painting suggests that perhaps the thread to return from the ecological threats at hand (and slaying of our proverbial minotaur) may lie within our own ability to lengthen the connections we make with our own decisions, returning to and from a thread.
Schnell�s new evocative graphic cutouts-which evolved from her longstanding use of collage-introduce a tactile presence and suggest the influence of everything from illuminated manuscripts to board games to science and anatomy models. Through her own visual language that seeks to express the dynamic interrelationship of all things Schnell forges the abstract with the representational to strike on imagery and poetic narratives that are both illusive and tangible. In the mobile �Return� basic recognizable forms such as vibrant color wheel spectrums, rotational arrows, planets, water, and seed, offer a visceral interpretation of life�s repetitious cycles while Schell�s totemic �Need,� exudes fertility and fruitfulness, presenting a colorful metaphor for the biological origins of all expression and creativity.
From the dually subjective and objective nature of knowledge and communication to the elementary building blocks of life to view her works is to experience mystery and wholeness in even the most straightforward phenomena.
Jovi Schnell has exhibited in various galleries and institutions, including Derek Eller Gallery and The Drawing Center in New York; The Stedelijk Bureau Museum in Amsterdam; The Brooklyn Museum;�and The Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. Schnell has been featured in publications such as Art in America, Art on Paper, Artweek, Flash Art, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Her work has been awarded various fellowships, as well as a Pollock-Krasner Grant for painting. Schnell lives and works in San Francisco and is an adjunct faculty member at the California College of Arts, as well as a lecturer at The San Francisco Art Institute and U.C. Berkeley.