vernier nihilist: The Artists' Studio: Sept. 6, 2012 | the570.com Northeastern PA's ...

Russ Noto. Figure with Horizon Line. Oil on canvas, 33?x43?

A Space for Artifice

It?s been a matter of months since Russ Noto completed his Masters of Fine Art at the Savannah College of Art and Design but the artist already scored a solo exhibition at The Afa Gallery in Scranton. It?s not his first. Noto boasts previous solo exhibitions at both the Richard J. Demato Gallery in Sag Harbor, NY, and Little Beasts Gallery in Savannah, Ga. It?s not his first show at AfA either, having exhibited in 2009?s Next Generation show while studying at Keystone College. Users opens with a reception on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. in conjunction with First Friday Scranton.
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?My art addresses contemporary descent from nature. It is a simulation of the natural world, which provides the stage for human experience,? he offers in a statement at www.russnoto.com. ?The existence is meant to be absurd, sublime and most importantly artificial.?
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Citing our use of digital technologies to create synthetic observations of the natural world, the artist refers to our man-made isolation. ?In the age of the Internet and abundant mediated social experiences, the distance or stepping back from traditional notions of experience is pertinent in my work. This space reveals an artifice identity onto my subject. It is an identity in which I feel personifies a mediated existence and heightens the strange world in which we now live.?
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Before graduating from Keystone (class of ?09), Noto was one of four students selected to paint a permanent mural in the lobby of the Scranton Parking Authority headquarters. He saw his work published in American Art Collector in 2011 while still at SCAD. He is represented by galleries in San Francisco and Paris as well as Sag Harbor and has been collected by art lovers from as far away as Bratislava and Beijing as well as along our own East Coast.
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Users: Russ Noto remains on display through Sept. 28. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Call 969-1040 for more information.

Terra Firma and the Spirit of Flight

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Denis Yanashot?s ?Anhedral Glide? is one in a new collection of mixed media sculptures made of assembled bones and other found objects on display at Keystone College?s The Linder Gallery from Sept. 16 through Oct. 19. The artist?s work is inspired in part by his personal hang-gliding experience, gallery director Drake Gomez said in a release for the show. Terra Firma and the Spirit of Flight opens with a reception for the Scranton-based artist on Sunday, Sept. 16 from 4-6 p.m. The exhibit will also feature a few of the carved marble biomorphic abstracts for which Yanashot is better known. It was one such work that won him the Best of Show honors in the 2012 NEPA Regional, resulting in the award of this solo exhibition. Located in the Miller Library, the gallery is open daily. Call 945-8335 for more information.

Back to Life

No longer required to head back to school as students, a group of recent Keystone College alumni will collect to exhibit at New Visions Studio & Gallery this month. The six featured artists, hand-picked by curator Melanie Boisseau, include Sean Costello, Matt Mroz, Alex Seeley, Erica Simon, Sara Snodgrass and Michael Swanson. They?ll display sculptural works as well as drawings, paintings, and photographs in the show opening Friday with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m.
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Currently a resident of Scranton, Snodgrass (see ?Pineapple Girl,? at right) specialized in ceramic sculpture and pottery until recently. The work she?ll be showing at New Visions consists primarily of mixed media paintings on glass and other unexpected ?canvases.? In exploration of techniques by which to create transparent images, the artist has begun to layer images of different opacities, achieving an illusion of depth.?
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?I often use repeating patterns and symbols to create the under paintings, in my work. The patterns I use are often inspired by human biology, such as DNA strands and heart chambers. The symbols found in my art are based loosely off fractals and sacred geometry,? she explains. ?I have been looking at the world in a much more spiritual way over this last year. I have come to realize that there is no separation between the conscious and unconscious world. I hope to inspire and shine light and on those who view my art, so that they too can see the interconnectedness of everything that we call a world.?
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Keystone alum Alex Seeley recently completed an internship with The Times-Tribune. A native of Scranton, Sean Costello currently works as a professional tattoo artist at Traditions Elite Tattooing and Body Piercing. Matt Mroz is a teacher?s assistant at Keystone and is pursuing a career as a glass artist. Clarks Summit resident Michael Swanson works as a studio tech for Keystone?s glass program. Also a glassblower, former Factoryville resident Erica Simon is employed by The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y.
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The exhibit will remain on display through Sept. 29. New Visions Studio & Gallery is located at 201 Vine Street. Call 878-3970 or visit www.newvisionsstudio.com. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.