TWO ARTISTS. ONE SHOW.
KJ & Steve Cotherman
July 9 – July 30, 2023
Opening Reception: July 15, 5pm–7pm
TWO ARTISTS. ONE SHOW. juxtaposes the geometric urban landscapes by KJ done in detailed charcoal and dazzlingly colored oil with Steve Cotherman's photographs of urban textures, abandoned houses, and the natural world made foreign through in-camera manipulation.
TWO ARTISTS. ONE SHOW. runs now through July 30, Tuesdays–Sundays from 12pm–5pm.
Join us for the opening public reception of TWO ARTISTS. ONE SHOW., on Saturday, July 15, from 5pm–7pm to meet the artists and see their stark yet vibrant recent works. Light will be refreshments provided.
EXHIBITION PHOTOS
Click each image below to view an enlarged and uncropped photo of this exhibition.
about the artists
KJ grew up all over the States in a military family and is a relatively new resident to Wisconsin now living in Ashland with her Siberian Husky and boyfriend.
KJ’s most recent perspective and pieces reflect her time in Louisiana and Mississippi where she previously lived for 12 years. Working in Charcoal Plein Air and then into oils on canvas in her studio, KJ has been working in these mediums for 20 plus years.
Our perception of the world is what we make it. Through my perspectives both external and personal the world fluctuated between light and dark. Often it was exactly that, a “perspective” that one can change at will, one can view the dark as light and the light as dark. Through many great challenges in both my personal and professional life I’ve learned the value of yin and yang, and why the darkest of times can be seen as the light that freed me from my own fears and my own trap that my mind had been trained to remain in from my upbringing.
My landscapes were discovered within myself in a time when I found creating inside a suffocating task. I found a connection to the Strength of the buildings that live outside. We may live and work in them, but they live outside breathing fresh air daily. Changing them from Dark into brilliant vibrant colors allows me to express the beauty of both the yin and yang of color and how both perspectives impact our senses both positively and negatively if we allow. I now view my life challenges as a positive not a negative. They gave me the reality I needed to see finally to make the step to free myself from what I thought was acceptable but was not.
My desire is to challenge the viewers perspective of helping them search within how they view the world and to acknowledge how they respond to the challenges of embracing the oil paint in vibrant colors or the ease of less stimulation in the simple but elegant black and white tones of the charcoal on paper. Do we find looking at the world through a black and white lens easier or is it less interesting?
If beauty can be found in both perspectives, then so can the world especially when the two perspectives come together and are joined as one in a balance of Yin and Yang.
