Black and White at Studio E on Reed Street strikes a dramatic note

THIS YEAR ‘BLACK AND WHITE’ promises to be a subtly provocative destination during the omnipresent Fall Arts Festival scene happening this weekend. The gallery at 1022 Reed Street is home for this eclectic and dramatic satellite exhibit. And the launch gathering Saturday (Sept. 24) from 4 to 7 p.m. is a chance to nosh on nibbles, sip on a libation or two and meet the accomplished artists assembled for this once a year Taos Fall Arts tradition.

TJ Mabrey, the creative force of nature behind the scenes explains the insight behind the show.

“To view the world in black and white suggests a capacity to make firm judgments between right and wrong, good and bad, with no shades of ambiguity or uncertainty to muddle one’s observations,” Maybrey said. “But in fact, the dictum is deceptive, because, as colors or noncolors, according to Leonardo and Isaac Newton – black and white involve a range of stunning nuances. Artists have capitalized on that phenomenon since the dawn of time. Black pigments were bountiful in Paleolithic cave paintings.

“This deep, carbon black was made from charred wood, bone, and antlers, and early artists manipulated the smudgy stuff to provide an illusion of depth and volume,” Maybrey continued. “Ancient Greek and Roman painters used lampblack, a pigment made from soot. Closer to modern times, Édouard Manet exploited the tonalities of black in homage to his great hero Velázquez. And Matisse called black ‘a force comparable to that of a doublebass as a solo instrument.’ And Robert Ryman spent 50 years devoted to white pigments that were never white, as in his untitled paintings achieved by layering white over green and blue – Helen Frankenthaler, Carmen Herrera, Anne Truitt and Agnes Martin also created white paintings, often blending in subtle, detectable shades of pink, blue or gray.”

The 10 artists in ‘Black and White’ celebrate the opportunities of the two colors or noncolors, depending on your point of view.

Artist Gretchen Ewert revealed, “I love color, but with black and white there is no apprehension over what works. I’m in a safe place. If I don’t like the results, I just move on.”

Others delight in the possibilities to be cajoled from these elemental tones.

“Black, white, and shades of gray create emotional movement in me, and in my work,” says Melissa Kennelly.

“For me, the simple act of moving bits of charcoal across soft white paper is a pipeline to complex emotion.” Bob Parker revealed, “Black and white are complicated.”

Deborah McLean concurs. “Black and white are striking.”

Photographer Desiree Manville believes, “The imagination seems to take over when looking at black and white images.”

Mabrey suggested black and white “are not as clear-cut and two-sided as they seem. Points to remember taking in the Studio E exhibition on Reed Street, an intimate space that allows the viewer the freedom to compare and contrast the many ways contemporary artists find subtlety and variety in these most elemental tools of interpretation.”

Larry Bell, Kathleen Brennan, Jane Ellen Burke, Gretchen Ewert, Melissa Kennelly, TJ Mabrey, Desiree Manville, Deborah McLean, Robert Parker, and Brian Shields come together to create ‘Black and White.’

For details and information, email TJ Mabrey, tjmabrey@gmail.com