McClain Gallery, in conjunction with FotoFest 2014, hosts two solo exhibitions that feature the works of artists Stephen Dean and Anne Deleporte.
Within The chaos theory of color, Dean presents two video works from his series The Color of Fever (2009-2013), Olé and Shibuya crossing, both filmed with thermal imaging cameras. These cameras, typically used in specialized law enforcement, firefighter and military applications, film images in high contrast to show minute temperature changes. Dean uses them to focus on human activity and movement as translated through a hyper-palette to explore pure color and its use in understanding objects and experiences.
Shibuya crossing captures the chaotic energy of dense pedestrian traffic near of Tokyo's busiest railway stations, where Olé filters bullfighting images through the lens of thermal cameras, rendering the violent footage into abstract visions in bright hues.
The videos further Dean's investigations of material culture by assigning new meaning to ordinary objects and scenarios through his color compositions, which highlight sensory association. In his films as well as through mixed media, Dean reconfigures the aesthetic qualities of everyday forms to highlight unexpected structures and patterns of color.
Also on view are a recent group of works titled Juggler (2013), seven works on paper that incorporate dichroic glass set within crinkled rectangular sheets of kraft paper or black aluminum foil. Due to the inherent properties of the material, the dichroic glass discs shift color according to ambient light conditions and the viewer's perspective. Combined with the humble materials of the paper grounds, these shapes appear both minimal and hypnotic.
Anne Deleporte works across a variety of media including painting, sculpture, drawing, video and numerous projects of hers have also taken shape as public installations. Consistent throughout her work is a a fascination with the seen and unseen and how photography and video can transform the mundane into something curiously strange.
Shown alongside her poignant video Dazzle are photographs of the ink brushstrokes that recreate the donkey-cum-zebra in the performance captured in her film. The inky gestures, once the painted stripes on a projected creature, now exist as photographs — glimpses of what once was whole. The ink, the brush marks and the grain of the paper are all captured in the prints, which play with the notion of illusion and give the viewer a rare view into the evolution of the work.
On view through April 19.