Ohlin/D: Contemporary Artist Collaboration Fall/Winter 2015

"The theme of the collection is 'Rumspringa' which is an old Amish right of passage, wherein the adolescents in the Amish community are able to leavefor a certain period of time and then decide whether or not they want to returnto the community and be baptized or leave it permanently.  The collection is very Amish inspired but has a lot of 70s flash. Barrett's colorful prints are representative of this time of rebellious self exploration".

All prints by Savanna Barrett for Ohlin/D 2015

View the full collection at http://www.ohlin-d.com/collections/f-w-2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / Sept 4, 2014 / New York City

PRESENTING SAVANNA BARRETT: THE DARK FLOWERS

OPENING THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 from 6pm - 8pm

Announcing Savanna Barrett: The Dark Flowers, the first exhibition by the artist of twenty medium and large-scale oil paintings opening at The Highline Loft, West Chelsea Arts Building.

The Highline Loft

508 W. 26th Street, Fifth Floor, New York City

rsvp@oscillation.com by September 22, 2014

Press Inquiries: Lyn Winter, lyn@lynwinter.com or 213-446-0788

Informed by Barrett’s studies and reflections over a six year period in Europe, Asia, and the United States, the exhibition includes twenty medium and large-format paintings often depicting abstract landscapes formed by intricately layered oil paint treated like clay. “The history of figure painting has generally been a story of the body, the nude, the portrait. The history of landscape painting has been one of the disappearance of the figure and erasing the presence of indigenous dwelling. In my work, I attempt to bring the trace of the figure into landscape, yet in a striking and visceral way,” said Barrett.

Barrett’s technique is an experimental process. “Oil paint has the characteristics of human skin, lending itself to be layered, scratched, and peeled. The wet undermost layer, the more viscous layer in the middle that’s semi-dry, and the outermost layer, which is dry to the touch but malleable. It can be wrinkled, crumpled, scraped into shapes that are three dimensional, ripped to reveal the colors underneath, and even massaged into a texture that looks like elephant hide. These attributes lend themselves to create new meaning during the process.”

In less than two years, Barrett has completed over twenty canvases including Mentor, Mentor II and Mentor III, Mothers’ Toll, and Those Who Roamed the Earth. In 2013, Mentor was selected from over 700 entries by the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland, and exhibited as part of their contemporary art collection.

Mentor, a large scale 8’ x 10’ painting, represents not only a reflection of classical oil painting lighting technique, but also combines elements of abstraction into transcendent humanistic themes. “The painting is of a Cairn, a man-made stack of stones, reflecting on the human desire to leave evidence in their environment, just as my work documents the traces of its own evolution.”

From Bozeman, Montana and part of a family of artists, Barrett went on to study at Seattle Pacific University where she trained as a concert violinist, Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, Italy, and the Visual & Critical Studies Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. While studying in Italy, as a way to finance her art, she began modeling and worked with Valentino, Gucci, and Giambattista Valli, among other fashion companies.

The exhibition is presented at The Highline Loft, courtesy of Gloria Naftali, who remarked, “Savanna’s work has developed to the stage where it clearly needs more visibility and careful placement.”

The exhibition is organized by Christopher Romero, a noted Creative Director and Filmmaker. “Savanna’s work reinterprets what was once lost into newly found objects and representation. It immediately touches people with its combined subtlety and urgency.”

The exhibition will be open to the public from September 26-30 from 10am–4pm.

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