September 2017
Micheline Klagsbrun has always been fascinated by the parallels that can be found between cultures widely separated by time and geography. For many years her work has been inspired by classical Greek mythology, particularly Ovid’s Metamorphoses, featuring timeless stories of transformations among people, animals, gods, plants, stones, water, and trees. In researching the beliefs and spiritual practice of the Utes, native to the Colorado area, Klagsbrun found interesting commonalities with these ideas and narratives. This exhibition reflects these commonalities.
Remains to be Seen presents Klagsbrun's works on paper (ink and color pencil on vellum) alongside three-dimensional wall hangings and sculptural pieces. Permeated with light, her work seems both fluid and evanescent. Transformation is the theme, as well as the universal reverence for the spirits and memories contained in physical remains Two series of drawings explore the transformation of found animal skulls into a variety of sacred birds and animals.
Klagsbrun has immersed herself in the shapes and textures of her surroundings, noting the similarities between aspen branches, bleached-white bones, antlers and veins. From the “writing” of beetles on bark to the impressions of mushrooms onto paper, she makes visible the silent messages of this mountain landscape.
Micheline Klagsbrun studied in Paris with Alfredo Echeverria and at the Corcoran with Bill Newman and Gene Davis. She has exhibited widely, and is in private collections nationally as well as in Europe and the Middle East. Recent solo and group exhibits in Washington D.C. include the Katzen Museum at American University, Arena Stage, Smith Center for the Healing Arts, Covington and Burling, Adah Rose Gallery, gallery plan b, Studio Gallery, Exhibit9 Gallery, the Embassies of Finland and Venezuela, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art; elsewhere, Macy Gallery (New York City), William Ris Gallery (Cape May NJ), Aswan, Egypt and Delhi, India. She is President and co-founder, with her husband Ken Grossinger, of CrossCurrents Foundation (CCF), which as part of its mission sponsors art to promote social justice and to heighten public engagement with key social issues. In addition to CCF, she serves on several Boards of Directors, including The Phillips Collection (Board of Trustees), Transformer (DC), and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at the New School (NYC). Through the Corcoran Outreach program, she served for a number of years as a mentor for inner-city youth.
The show runs thru September 2017 at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6 pm, or by appointment.
