CHERYL H. HAHN
Cheryl H. Hahn presents a new body of work called Contemplating Reality. This series of seventeen mixed media pieces reflects Hahn’s passion of working on wood panels as she incorporates colorful organic imagery within the context of the visual vitality of wood grain. Six of the works titled: “Earth,” “Water,” “Fire,” “Air,” “Space,” and “Consciousness,” reference Buddhist aspects of viewing the world. Each panel choreographs the artist’s own interpretations of these “natural elements” through a vibrant mark-making that implies movement and motion. The artist states: “….My dots and dashes siphon my energy----like a syringe; they punctuate the visual field with each stroke of my pen.” The six long, narrow panels are meant to be read like a scroll, as the viewer “reads” the marks. Each work embodies a visual conversation with energy and natural rhythms.
Other organic patterns expand on this linear expression in the largest work in the show: “Secret Garden.” This is a garden that is alive with the language of summer---the sway of plants, the buzz of bees, and the movement of earth. It echoes the magic of experience as one connects with the metaphysical mysteries of being alive in the world. Smaller works like “Spawn,” “Vibration,” and “Cellular” allude to rhythmic patterns without the presence of wood grain; these are intimate, personal visualizations that expand on the artist’s individual vocabulary.
Contemplating Reality provides a personal and visual respite for those seeking balance and harmony. The plasticity of the work invites close scrutiny as one finds solace in the joyful marks that echo cloud, rain, wind, and breath.
