Bodies of Knowledge Reception

About Anthony Apesos:
The figures in Tony Apesos’ paintings enact moments of drama that only they understand. Both the viewer and himself are outside the depicted space, unable to control the events unfolding there.  Apesos is their maker, yet he has no special access to the secrets of his depicted people; his job is merely to attempt to embody them concretely so they can do what they must.

Although the above is true, to the extent that Apesos is consciously aware about his process, he also knows it cannot be the whole truth. As a viewer of his paintings, he knows that they embody personal history, and at the same time depend on his reflections on the history of Western art. Perhaps the fragments of narratives that his images depict are an allegorization of the play and conflict between the personal and historical.

As an artist Apesos seeks to make manifest the non-tangible in the material world. Through visual metaphor he represents the nature of human longing -- longing for what we’ve never seen, and for what we have had and have lost; his paintings are about the ongoing emptiness that propels us through time.  The human figure is his primary vehicle of expression because the viewer’s natural empathetic response to another’s body renders the expression more vital and clear.  But at the same time, his deeper motive is to capture the fleetingness of individual human lives.
 

These paintings illustrate scenes from the Metamorphoses of Ovid and are the most recent part of an ongoing series reflecting on the real and mythic history of Rome.

As depictions of the Loves of the Gods, Apesos finds them unexpectedly relevant to the current discussion of sexual harassment; no one is more guilty than Ovid’s gods. He has included himself in some of these images in very different roles both as confession and complaint.
 

On Apesos’ prices
 

Pricing in the art market is based on a manufactured sense of status, not on any real value. Dealers believe that works of art as commodities of conspicuous consumption must be priced beyond what is affordable for the average appreciator of art. They believe this to the extent that they claim that works of art that are too inexpensive cannot be sold.  Rather than participate in this system, he has priced his works according to Massachusetts minimum wage, plus materials, for the hours that it took him to complete them.

About Kathryn Geismar:
 

For the past several years Kathryn Geismar’s work has explored images that hold a mystery: children jump to impossible heights, clouds and waves portend something elusive, tensions appear to arise between figures that have no context except one another.  The jumper series explores the bounds of human experience. These paintings depict her own children, and are motivated by her desire for their joy and freedom as well as her questions about what the future holds for them.

Geismar’s most recent series, Aftermath, explores the process of becoming well after an illness.  She wanted to depict the disorienting nature of being ill -- when ones’ world is no longer within the bounds of what was once normal – and tell some of the story of her own personal journey with cancer through these works.  Smaller paintings are placed on top of the canvas, creating an echo of disorientation. Under each painting is a journal entry written at various points during her treatment and recovery. These words become the background for the narrative arc of each painting.  Her hope is that results are not morbid or brooding, but rather an exploration of an emotional journey and a celebration of life.

About Elizabeth Menges:
 

Marriage was a big deal. Especially after living on her own for 10 years, navigating the new, strange world of cohabitation and joint decision making required a complete rewiring of her daily functioning. Elizabeth Menges was confronted with her own humbling flaws and fears with the task of dealing with them in front of another person whose reaction could either push me into immature self-defense mode or reflective humility. What did it mean to be united with another human? How could she preserve her own sense of independence? What emotional baggage reared its ugly head when her sense of comfort was threatened? How did she trust and communicate instead of defend and blame? Growing in front of another is not easy. Menges’ paintings explore this tumult.  Hands are a metaphor for the individual, negotiating needs and desires that are sometimes selfish, sometimes conflicted. The manipulation of flesh is sometimes violent, sometimes tender. Ultimately the glint of a gold band is a reminder of the secure arena in which we push and pull.

A year and a half later, marriage is not so scary. In fact, it feels like the most worthwhile decision Menges has ever made. The new challenge on the horizon--motherhood--triggers all her fears, insecurities, and excitement. How does she not repeat her own parents’ mistakes? How does she approach this awesome responsibility with humility and openness? What if she fails? What lurking fears does she need to confess? Her embroideries journal these thoughts, employing a traditional material that brings to mind motherhood and homemaking and the comfort of a repetitive, meditative craft bringing stillness in the midst of an unpredictable future.

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