Buechel Studio: Action Expressionism

November 6-24, 2020
Buechel Studio: Action Expressionism
Opening reception: Friday, November 6, 5:00-8:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9 AM – 5 PM
Please note, the Emporium will be closed Wed-Fri Nov 25-27 for the holidays.

The Eric Buechel Fine Art Studio presents a creative collaborative of Cumberland-area artists who will display abstract works (primarily painting). The five artists include Eric Buechel, Sharon Bush, Pat Schudiske, Jerry Sparks, Mike Sparks, and Bob Stevens. These artists came together during a series of weekly “Collaborative Creativity” workshops, led by Eric Buechel, in which they painted and created alongside fellow artists each week in the Buechel Studio in Pleasant Hill.

Movement and unpredictability, along with geometry and familiarity, are combined to create “action expressionism”. In these paintings, drawings, and three-dimensional pieces, the artists’ images interweave various historical modes of abstract art. The end result is an expansive vocabulary of visual motifs that connect all the pieces together.

Their artistic journey began by exploring works of previous abstract artists, particularly Jackson Pollock. As a group, they explored things found outside of nature, seeking to connect with the viewer by creating an emotional bond through patterns, colors, tones, and lines. Their collective goal is to reflect expressive movements through the end design; some made by hand and others by mechanical means. What began as an exercise to loosen up their painting styles turned into color theory process: from hanging paint containers on a line in a tree to spilling paint on a moving canvas, the effect differed in multiple ways. The artists have discovered there are endless results to be achieved through the use of a variety of materials, with unplanned elements providing surprise and excitement.