Exhibitions
Exhibition Preview

August 12th Exhibition
The pane, not the window
Opening August 12th, 6-8pm
On view through September 3, 2017

Artists: Kathy Creutzburg, Shane Harrington, Kris Enos & Klay-James Enos

Curated by Klay-James Enos


And from the inside, too, I'd duplicate
Myself, my lamp, an apple on a plate:
Uncurtaining the night, I'd let dark glass
Hang all the furniture above the grass


-Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire


The idea of art as a window on the world is not a new one, credited to the 15th century theorist Leon Battista Alberti. In the present, Alberti's conception of art as mathematic harmony derived from nature seems remote from our own concern for individual expression and interpersonal interaction. A contemporary window, if one will pardon the expression, is one that looks in, not out. With this emphasis on interiority comes the possibility of deception and invention.

The artists featured in The pane, not the window present projects that exploit art's potential to describe nonexistent spaces, whether imaginary or reflective of reality. Projects, in the sense that they have been plucked prior to becoming fully-fledged series. The works by each artist are interdependent on each other to establish the rules of their invented space. Just as most windows contain glass, these pieces place a barrier between the viewer and the projection of an illusion: an element that brings the fiction to the front of our awareness.

Mankind is not innately privileged in the universe, and all of the rationalizations we can offer for our superior position are bound to be mired in subjectivity. Shane Harrington, who has returned to painting after a long absence, conjures the cramped quarters of this self-delusion through tight abstractions that find cold comfort in monolithic structures. He has titled his work after antidepressants, antipsychotics, and clinical terminology; modifications to individual psychology that suggest the self may require correction.

Scale and orientation are often gleaned unconsciously from the photographic image, reached through a process where the eye finds its footing in details that serve as clues for the bigger picture. Kris Enos' past work has taken inspiration from dreams, recreating oneiric details within the context of studio photography. His "Rooms" project returns to the uncanny as the pivot point on which reality is questioned, but within a constructed setting. Using a scale model and set, Enos takes advantage of the medium's uncertain perspective to stage an investigation of photographic falsehood.

Kathy Creutzburg's work is constructed on conceptual pathways that accumulate layers and details over the course of a journey. Her paintings issue forth from a free flow of ink that picks up and carries fluvial objects and patterns in its path. Likewise, Creutzburg's sculptures are constructed on jetsam, literally objects that float ashore from a river and are collected by the artist. Resembling boats or piers in form, these sculptures embody the poetic suggestions of her two-dimensional work.

Technology has added new and unavoidable associations to the word "window," as an interface for graphic or textual information. Klay-James Enos' paintings and digital art are influenced by this alliance of image and grammar in a single space. His "In the Studio" project uses traditional sketches of a model in an atelier setting as a departure point. Over a sequence of works spanning mediums and styles, the image is abstracted into a linear signal. This structure becomes inseparable from the artist's representation of a classical subject.

Artist Bios:

Kathy Creutzburg is a public artist who uses the landscape to inspire her sculptures, mosaics, and paintings. She credits her creative origins to her involvement with local community gardens in the East Village during the 1990s. Most recently, she had an interactive sculpture in the Chashama Gala on 42nd Street on Times Square. Last year, she completed two major projects for public spaces: a permanently installed steel sculpture in Raleigh, NC and a mural and mosaic project in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Her public sculptures, mosaics, and murals for Public School 61M were permanently installed on site and restored by the NYC School Construction Authority in 2014. She has exhibited sculptures in the "Figment Summer Long Sculpture Garden" for three consecutive years, and sat on the jury for Figment's "Pavilion of Dreams" architecture competition. Creutzburg has had her work shown in a solo exhibit at Michael Mut Gallery and at Brooklyn Children's Museum in New York City, as well as numerous group shows.

Klay-James Enos is a native East Village artist. He received his B.A. from Alfred University, where he studied English literature and art history. He has also studied painting at the Art Students League. Enos has shown his paintings in a a solo exhibit at the Ottendorfer Public library, and in group shows at Station Independent Projects, Studio 26 Gallery, Theater for the New City, the Tompkins Square Library Gallery, and Michael Mut Project Space. His essays on other artists' work have been featured at the Tompkins Square Library Gallery, NYU's Kimmel Stovall Gallery, and Bouduin College in Maine. Currently, he divides his time between painting, installing art exhibits in museums and private galleries, consulting for a nonprofit devoted to preserving neighborhood architecture, and working with composers and conductors in the classical and opera fields.

Kris Enos is a photographer and longtime resident of the East Village. He comes from a multidisciplinary background, having worked as a photographer, filmmaker, cameraman,and actor. He studied at The School Of Visual Arts, filmmaking at The New School, and has trained with famed acting teacher Eric Morris. Enos joined the International Cinematographers Guild in 1994. His feature film credits include Black Swan, Inside Man, and A Beautiful Mind, among many others. He made several documentaries and short films as a filmmaker in the late 80s and early 90s. His photography has been published in the books Thinking in Pictures and Body/Image, as well as in Vogue Italia. He has shown his photography in galleries in New York City; Burlington, VT; and Cincinnati, OH. Enos is the vice president of the Artistas de Loisiada Foundation, a non-profit artist group. He lives in Alphabet City with his wife, sculptor Kathy Creutzburg.

Shane Harrington is an artist/musician from Ireland. He graduated with honors from Limerick School of Art & Design in 2009 where his thesis DIY Counter Culture received the highest grade in the College's history 150 year history. Harrington has worked at Ormston House, Eva Biennial and was a member of LIKE Studios all in Limerick, Ireland.

Throughout his teens and early twenties Shane toured across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe playing experimental music, exhibiting his work and curating art shows. He moved to New York in 2012 where he now works at both The Isamu Noguchi Museum and Station Independent Projects, while also maintaining a rigorous recording schedule, as well as his own artistic practice.

Harrington curated a group show of local and international Irish artist titled "Irish Art Does Not Exist" at Station Independent Projects in 2014 which was sited in ArtFCity, Visual Arts Ireland, NY Arts Magazine, The LO-Down, Re-Title and Two Coats of Paint.