Our lives are directed by perception – the way we see things affects what we think, and what we think has a direct impact on how we react and the choices we make. Whether in art or life, the value of perception is incalculable. How, then, do we approach it? Do we, for fear of the unknown, keep a stark separation between what is art and what is not; what is dream and what is reality? If it is true that art imitates both our lives and our emotions, why do we distance ourselves from the possible intersection of the abstract and concrete? Artists Oliver Wasow and Gregory Scott address such questions, making them the ideal pair for an exhibit that not only questions, but pushes the boundaries of art and reality.
Oliver Wasow, who has produced his famed photographic work since the early 1980s, challenged preconceptions from the very start. By combining foreign structures with both barren and idyllic landscapes, he began creating images melding fantasy with reality. His more recent work, which will be featured in our exhibit, will feature a wide variety of works such as Caspian Sea,
Gregory Scott, who has just recently broken into the art world, adds another perspective with his newer digital work. He had always blurred the lines between painting and photography, incorporating himself into images that were not only humorous or odd, but challenged the notion of photographic truth. Pieces to be featured will be taken from his series of “Impositions”, wherein Scott incorporates the painted canvas into his photographed settings and situations. ones which are often amusing and surreal. It is in his most recent “Outside the Frame” series, however, that Scott introduces a third element into his amalgamation of media: video. By using mirror-within-mirror perspectives – along with other methods of illusion and surprise – Scott prompts the viewer to look beyond the first glance. His use of the museum setting in his work challenges the viewer to break free not only of the definitions that restrict various mediums, but also of the preconceived notions of the gallery space (what painter, after all, embeds Apple computer screens into stretched canvases?). Due to the length of View, Depth, and Dinner for One, we will highlight only a handful of pieces from “Impositions”. These will include Homage, Separation, Disconnect, Flipside, Bound, and Poet’s Graveyard.
As a pair, Wasow and Scott not only challenge perception, blend digital with traditional, and play on real and surreal. By exploring themes of isolation, loneliness, and disconnect, the selected works for the show offer insight into human emotion and identity as well. The difference in approach to the aforementioned concepts is another factor that makes them so compelling together. Where Scott chooses to make the transition between media discoverable, Wasow’s approach is more subtle and hidden (he makes the seams virtually undetectable in his newer work). Where Scott features himself to convey emotion and ethereality, Wasow conveys the same message through human absence. Where Scott uses irony and oddness to construct unimaginable tableaus, Wasow uses otherworldly beauty in the creation of convincingly realistic settings. Where one artist relies on possible connections, the other relies on compelling contradictions. No matter how their work may stand unified or apart, however, Gregory Scott and Oliver Wasow deliver more than an entertaining video or a lovely photograph. They offer a look into the intricacies of art and the very complexity of human perception. They offer a step closer.
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