Origin’s: A Visual Dialogue Between Mother and Son is nearing its final day at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center. The show is thematically ending on Mother’s Day, with a talk back by the two artists: mother Annette Turow and son Gabe Turow.
The atmosphere in the room was very welcoming and comforting, with Gabe’s ceramic pots set around the space on white pedestals, and Annette’s airy, abstract paintings on the white walls. They opened the curtains and let the light bounce around, brightening and warming the space. Gabe mentioned how these pieces are meant to be in people’s homes, and I felt the same when I looked at all the work.
The story and dialogue behind what creates the show focused on the connection between the mother and son. Annette and Gabe wanted to be in a gallery space together, and so for over a year Annette would paint works and send photos to Gabe, who was miles away at the time. Then, he would create a clay pot based off of how he interpreted his mother’s work. Walking throughout the gallery space, you can try to connect the pot with the painting. But that isn’t the only relationship you can see throughout the pieces.
I felt that there’s also a lot of relation and contrast in the shapes and forms throughout all the works. Annette’s paintings contain a lot of abstract shapes within the frame of the painting. Each one holds form within the bounds of the many colors used to create the piece. In the same way, within the bounds of the surface of Gabe’s pots, there are shapes in each carving and within the paints he used. Of course the contrast lies in the flat surface of the painting and the 3D form of the pots. Yet together, they fill the space of the gallery.
Comments are closed.