2014 Winter S

ho

w Janu

ary 12 – Feb

ruary 28, 2014

Robert BohnéDonna CotzenMichael GuinnAnders HansenHarriet KlineAlice Meyer-WallaceSusan StromquistRick Wright

Off the Wall Gal leryOff the Wall Gal lery at Dirty Frank’sfacebook.com/OTWDirtyFranks@OTWDirtyFranks

What a great year it will beMarch 2 ‒ April 25 Mary Liz Memorial Masters Exhibition 10 Opens Thursday, March 6, 7‒10 pm

April 27 ‒ May 30 From the Collection of Jay McConnell Opens Thursday, May 1, 7‒10 pm

Thursday, May 8 Submission Deadline for 11:59 pm Ninth Annual Community Juried Show

June 1 ‒ August 1 Ninth Annual Community Juried Show Opens Thursday, June 5, 7‒10 pm

August 3 ‒ 2014 Midsummer Show September 19 Opens Thursday, August 7, 7‒10 pm

September 21 ‒ 2014 Autumn Invitational November 21 Opens Thursday, September 25, 7‒10 pm

Thursday, October 30 Submission Deadline for 11:59 pm Tenth Annual Juried Exhibition

November 23 ‒ Tenth Annual Juried Exhibition December 27 Opens Thursday, December 4, 7‒10 pm

December 28 ‒ New Year’s/Mummers Break January 9, 2015

March 2 – April 25M L M

M E 1010Russell Brodie Jon LaidackerTecu’Mish Munha’Ke

on the cover, clockwise from top: Rick Wright’s “Daphne,” Alice Meyer-Wallace’s “Cala Deià,” Susan Stromquist’s “Sa Costa #2” and Robert Bohné’s “Into Town.”

You have the love the Majorcan fl ag. That castle on its side. It speaks to new perspectives̶quite possibly ones you cannot fi nd anywhere else.

Once you spend time with this show, which emerged from a 10-day trip that members of our sister organizationThe Plastic Club made to mainland Spain and Majorca in September, you begin to believe there is a certain magic at work.

These eight colleagues sketched, painted and photographed in and around Deià and Sóller, villages on the rugged, gorgeous northwest coast of Majorca. But rather than trail off into a travelogue, we need to go places words alone can’t take us.

Enter the 42 works of Tierra Reveladora. Although you are just now meeting the art, you already know several of the artists from past Off the Wall shows. Just two artists are making their debuts, with captivating sets of watercolors̶Donna Cotzen and Harriet Kline, who presents hers as giclée prints. Michael Guinn, long-time Plastic Club volunteer leader, together with his wife, Cynthia, also off ers giclées, of his deft pen-and-inks, and adds a stunning oil painting.

The Club’s exhibition chair, Susan Stromquist, stretches that medium with her oil transfer drawings. Anders Hansen, indispensable Plastic Clubber and indefatigable source of good cheer, reveals the next stage of his evolving work in ink. His roommate on the trip, Robert Bohné, wrapping up his year as a Mary Liz Fellow, again shows his mastery of plein air art-making. And while the last thing our artists did was take touristy snapshots, happily there was a gifted photographer in this group, Rick Wright, who fell under the spell of the olive grottos.

Last, and most of all, is the chief muse of the trip, the amazing Alice Meyer-Wallace, who has a home in Deià. Her inspiring watercolors̶no doubt from long practice and thousands of comtemplative hours ̶do the greatest justice to magical locations embraced by artists of generations past, including Robert Graves, Anaïs Nin, George Sand and Frédéric Chopin.

It’s our turn to share in that embrace̶and quite simply fall in love.

Jody Sweitzer Togo TravaliaCurator Manager

A different point of view

robertbohné

I roomed with Bob in Majorca and Madrid, and I can truly say that he never had his sketchbook out of his hands. I remember falling into bed late one night and picking up the book I’d been reading. Bob came in a few minutes later and got into his bed, and as we talked about the party, I realized he was working on a drawing the whole time! There is not artist in our circle who is more committed to honing his craft in order to realize his vision completely. The uniquely poetic works of his in this exhibit give testimony to his ability to distill a moment in time and space and always put upon it his unmistakable stamp. ̶Anders Hansen

“Uphill”

“Garden Wall”pencil and gouache350.

“Gossip”pencil and gouache250.

“Into Town”watercolor700.

“Rooftops of Madrid”pencil and gouache250.

“Shades and Shadows”pencil and gouache350.

“Uphill”pencil and gouache350.

Visit Bob online: robertbohne.com

Who can forget when Bob was so engrossed in his drawing that he didn’t notice his spaghetti bolognese (from ‘Rick’s Cafe’) had been invaded by an army of aunts. Loud curse, then he ate it anyway and kept drawing. ̶Susan Stromquist

Editor’s note: We got one heck of a scare last week. Robert Bohné suff ered a heart attack. He didn’t lose his sense of humor for, well, a heartbeat, regretting from the ER that “it wasn’t an art attack.” Friends and colleagues from this show and beyond rallied to his side. Two chose to share stories about their time together in Majorca.

above and right: “Rooftops of Madrid,” “Garden Wall”

donnacotzen

When I started out on this trip, I had no idea how it would turn out. After all, I was taking ten days off . Would I be bored and lonely painting all day, for days on end? It ended up being the reverse. I was inspired by the museums in Madrid and the landscapes of Majorca.

Each day was a surprise, as I uncovered motivations that were naturally present in me. I discovered the desire to paint every day. My fear of loneliness dissolved, replaced by the sheer excitement of the act of painting. I became absorbed in the question, what will I paint today? How delightful when that’s the only decision you have to make!

“Blue Door”watercolor125.

“Long Road Down”watercolor150.

“Olive Tree Couple”watercolor200.

“Peaceful Majorca”watercolor150.

“Long Road Down”

Deià or Deya. Who knows which spelling is correct? Both, I suspect. It’s been on my so-called bucket list for 40 years, ever since Alice Meyer-Wallace began to promote a trip.

It was a revelation to discover the actual village after so many years of imagining it. It was smaller than I thought. And there wasn’t any square with a café. It was up and down always. But a sweet spot nonetheless. I did four ink drawings with a new pen that I had never used before. Now I am ready to make more.

michaelguinn

“Late Afternoon, Deià”oil on panel250.

These pen & ink originals are reproduced as giclées for this show. Multiple framed prints are available for 75. each:

“Coming Down”

“The Road to Alice’s House”

“Stair Street, Deià”

“The Street Where We Lived”

above and left: “The Street Where We Live,” “Late Afternoon, Deià”

See more of Mike’s work: plasticclub.org/guinn.html

Where we

Cartography by Alice Meyer-Wallace

made our art

andershansen

When I visited Majorca fi ve years ago (in the company of several in this show and, of course, dear Alice), I fell in love with the place immediately and knew that I would return. This year it happened̶and not for the last time!

We stayed in a rural setting on the outskirts of the village of Deià, where the chief sounds were the baaing and bleating of sheep and goats, with the occasional importunate basso profundo of the he-goat. Near our houses were ancient olive groves̶unchanged since our last visit, and probably for hundreds of years̶and it was there that I went every day to draw. In these magical groves it is not hard to conceive the presence of the gods, nymphs and demiurges that the old Greeks and Romans knew. I hope something of this is in my drawings.

Nearby was the sea, and in the distance, the mountains; and far, far away, the concerns of life in the 21st century. To visit the groves on a moonlit night is to chance an encounter with great Pan or risk seduction by a leafy Dryad. You’d better have a bottle of wine handy̶and we did!

“Minotaur”

But that was not the totality of our trip, which included three days in Madrid, and which I summarize thusly: Goya, Velázquez, Tintoretto, Titian, Bosch, Grien, Brueghel, Rembrandt, Rubens, Picasso (Guernica), Gris, Tapies, Buñuel, van der Weyden...food...drink...a beautiful street violinist...breakfast next to the building where Juan Gris was born and grew up....

“Deià Pastoral”ink and graphite on paper200.

“Dryads”ink on paper200.

“Minotaur”ink on paper250.

“Pan and Chloe”ink on paper200.

above and left: “Dryads,”“Pan and Chloe”

Majorca and especially Deià, our beloved little mountainside village, were full of surprises! Not only in what was there̶to be seen and to be felt̶but what was within me to be revealed.

As a new watercolorist, the views and vistas were exciting to discover, as was learning to fi nd my way or listening to the moonlit night. Deià’s ancient rocks and trees, her old stone buildings, and her cala (the beach looking out over the Mediterranean ) were all bathed in ever-changing light that formed new colors and shades by the hour̶and all this was

mine to capture. Working plein air in a small watercolor sketchbook, the goal was to collect the moment before it passed̶a challenge readily met with every opportunity.

Thank you, Alice, for sharing your corner of the world with us.

harrietkline

These watercolor originals are reproduced as giclées for this show. Multiple framed prints are available for 60. each:

“Across the Valley”

“Angel Overlooking Us”

“On the Terraces”

“Secret Doorway”

“Serra de Tramuntana”

“Surprised by Cactus”

“Trolley Tracks in Sóller”

“Surprised by Cactus”

“Trolley Tracks in Sóller”

See more of Harriet’s work: facebook.com/pages/Harriet-Kline-Arts/135981819883707

alicemeyer-wallace

Majorca is part of my soul.

I have lived most of my life in Deià. Every image is fi lled with memories of many aspects of my life. Para mí, esta es una tierra conocida̶even though there are always surprises.

“Cala Deià”watercolor395.

“Chopin’s View”watercolor395.

“Olive Tree”watercolor395.

“Plaza Sóller”watercolor250.

“Sóller Fountain”watercolor250.

“Sóller Railway”watercolor395.

“Swimming at the Cala”watercolor375.

“Valldemossa”watercolor395.

clockwise, from left: “Chopin’s View,” “Swimming at the Cala,” “Valldemossa”

Visit Alice online: alicemeyerwallace.com

I’ve kept one painting from The Plastic Club’s fi rst trip to Majorca̶a view across the valley from Alice’s. (You can see it in the Club’s Travel and Transport show, which runs February 2‒20.) I’ve thought about that painting ever since and, fi ve years later, returned to the same spot. It’s a place that holds great memories of beautiful times with friends. There are no phones, computers, television or radio. The only sounds are church chimes and goats’ sporadic bleating. I had no need for a clock.

For days I would wake up, step outside and work as the morning fog gave way to afternoon sun, and eventually it was dark and time for dinner. I continued with my favorite materials: gouache, known for its fl at application and color quality, and oil transfer drawing̶a printmaking method I learned from my aunt and adapted to be portable for traveling. It off ers a way of making a printed line that is somewhat unpredictable and refl ects traces of the hand.

susanstromquist

Susan Stromquist“Sa Costa #1‒ 4”oil transfer drawingand gouache650. each

“Sa Costa #3”

See more of Susan’s work: vimeo.com/susanstromquist

The great photographer Minor White once said that we should photograph things not only for what they are, but also for what they might be. That is, with care and awareness, familiar subjects can be seen anew and addressed as though they were awash in mystery. And so it was on my daily, rocky walk along a precipitous ravine, that I spent my time photographing the “what they might be” nature of Deià’s olive grottos.

Sometimes moody, sometimes ominous, always morphing, the olive trees hold spirits within them. Daphne herself grew into a tree before my eyes and lens. Four of these works are straight-up fi lm images using an old twin lens refl ex camera with prints made in a traditional darkroom. The tall color image “Daphne” was made by vertically panning with an iPhone 5 and then “pressing” the color into a Mediterranean palette.

rickwright

“Guardians of the Grotto”

“nmThese silver gelatin prints are made from medium format negatives and are 375. framed and 225. unframed:

“Cala Walk”

“Grotto Guardians”

“Mother & Daughter”

“Santa Claus”

Visit Rick online: wrightartstudio.com

From the artists & volunteers of OFF THE WALL GALLERY,HAPPY NEW YEARHAPPY NEW YEARand THANK YOU for helping make 2013 so very special...

7 shows7 shows71 artists71 artists347 works347 works

countless new fanscountless new fans&& 131 sales131 sales

We’re excited to start filling 2014 with great new art, inspiration, discovery and our growing community!