Katrine Hildebrandt
August Ventimiglia
March 25 – May 27, 2023
opening reception: Saturday, March 25 • 3-5pm
hours: Thursdays 12-4pm and by appointment: email or call 617.835.8255
Drive-by Projects is please to present New Works on Paper: Katrine Hildebrandt and August Ventimiglia. The exhibition will include Hildebrandt’s burned and stitched mixed media pieces and Ventimiglia’s elegant, process-made lithographs. Please join us for the opening of this quietly powerful show.
“Two years ago, I started thinking about my work as a meditation and exploration on lineage and the interconnectivity of all things. As I looked back to my own ancestors and at my own children I began thinking about the traits that have been passed down and what characteristics make up who we are. One very apparent trait that many of my family members have is blue eyes. Blue eyed people make up only 8% of the world’s population, and up until recently scientists could not pinpoint the exact gene which produced blue eyes. Research points to a mutation in the gene sequence that dates back to one single ancestor responsible for blue eyes that descended from the Black Sea region of southeastern Europe some 6 to 10 thousand years ago. I also learned that the lack of melanin in the iris results in fibers in the eye absorbing longer wavelengths that come into the eye, so blue light is reflected out, which makes the iris appear blue even though it’s actually colorless, similar to the way the sky and bodies of water appear blue. Interestingly enough, indigo, which was used to create the color in this body of work, is the elusive seventh color of the rainbow which some people simply cannot see. Indigo echoes the infinite richness of the sea, the midnight sky, the shadowy dusk and the early dawn, all parts of our everyday lives. This series of work pulls from my personal history, but also continues to explore and uncover what connects us all. The volatile processes of burning lines and dying with natural dyes correlate to our own permanence and transience on this earth.”
– Katrine Hildebrandt“In my studio practice, I make abstract drawings inspired by forms and processes in nature such as horizons, waves, tides, patterns, noises and sounds. For the past year I have turned my studio practice toward lithography and have been working with David Wolfe of Wolfe Editions in Portland, ME. I make marks by placing my finger on the top of the drawing implement and pushing down and away, resulting in a “flicked” line on the litho stone that I could not otherwise draw repeatedly. The abstract drawings that then are printed are made up of both intentional and unpremeditated lines. The process is additive. I do not erase errant lines. The resultant images are subject to chance within the parameters that I set up for each session. In this series of prints, I have referenced the grid as if the ink was woven into the fabric of the paper only to veer off the grid as an imperfect pattern. In all of the prints, I seek to make the surface resonate, as if it is sound or noise, not merely an image or recording of sound or noise.”
– August Ventimiglia
Masks requested when visiting the gallery.
