Ugly Stains, Cracks and Marks Are Fascinating Elements of Beautiful Art

MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Monterey Museum of Art proudly announces the opening of In Process: Ingrid Calame on Saturday, October 30, 2010. The exhibition will run through February 27, 2011 at the Monterey Museum of Art-La Mirada, 720 Via Mirada, Monterey, California.

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Calame is one of the country's leading contemporary abstract painters. She is known for creating large-scale, abstract works inspired by tracings of the stains and graffiti found on the streets and sidewalks in cities across the country. A significant amount of time is painstakingly spent with what most people walk on, walk past, scorn or remain oblivious to, resulting in intricate juxtapositions of color, line and form. It has been said that Calame's paintings look at first glance like the work of a younger, more joyous Jackson Pollock.

Monterey Museum of Art Executive Director, E. Michael Whittington says, "Ingrid Calame is an exceptional artist whose stunningly beautiful works include a simple concept — tracing the everyday spills and stains of our surroundings — and rigorous technique. Of special interest will be the site-specific, ephemeral work created for the Museum's Dart Gallery executed directly on the gallery walls."

Calame explains, "Since the early 90s, I have been working with tracing. I go to specific locations to trace marks, stains and cracks on the ground on to architectural Mylar [polyester-based tracing film]. From these tracings I make drawings and paintings. I clean the original tracings and layer them on top of each other. Once I've piled up the tracings, I place several rectangles of drafting Mylar on top of them. This determines the size of the drawings I will eventually make. I then start to trace the layers of rubbings that are beneath the rectangles, with a different color pencil for each layer, peeling back the layers one by one until I reach the bottom of the pile. The final drawings are always a surprise.

In Process is the Monterey Museum of Art's contemporary art series featuring current projects by emerging and mid-career artists. Each installment in the series features 10-25 words by the artist and frequently includes site-specific installations. The Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. For more information visit www.montereyart.org.  

SOURCE Monterey Museum of Art