Fresh Art at The Karin Sanders Gallery

from: The Independent Newspaper, June 6, 2007
www.indyeastend.com
"In the Gallery" by Joan Baum



May 26 – June 26, 2007: “Fresh Art” at Karin Sanders Fine Art, 126 Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY.

Though only in her second season, Karin Sanders is moving her gallery to a more "progressive and hip" edge, show-casing more emerging and established artists with a "fresh, innovative vision who are working in media that are inventive and unique." By edge, she means "cutting edge, NYC style," SoHo or Chelsea, with no distinction made between photos and painting - "it's all about art."


works by Orly Cogan

(article truncated)

Too unsettling? Try Cara Ober, whose mixed media canvases, like Ms. Cogan's, have serious fun with stereotypes about women and women's work. Describing her pieces as 'narratives,' Ms. Ober uses lettering, paste ons, paint, and ink to create pseudo-primitive views that move from symbols of innocence to experience.


summertime skin

In 'I'd Rather See You in Summertime Skin', a dictionary definition of 'pretty' is painted near a stick-figure honeymoon couple. The eye then travels down the canvas, past a blue bird (of happiness?) and a colorful cliche family beach scene, where black cursive writing scrawls out the picture title. Two smaller works, from Ms. Ober's 'Meshuggeneh Series,' joyfully continue the gentle satire.


untitled from the meshuggeneh series

Fresh Art includes works by Orly Cogan, Richard Alvarez, Jill Corson, Cara Ober, Diane Rollins Feissel and Michael Souter.

Eye to Eye in May Urbanite Issue

Cara Ober
Coupled Up in Bedroom Skin
2006
40 x 40 inches
Mixed media on canvas


So much of what art is, lies in the process of creation, yet we seldom have the opportunity to enter an artist’s mind to get a sense of how a work of art actually develops. I have always found the work that best expresses its process to be the most interesting. Perhaps it is that I can feel the spirit of the artist when I have a sense of her struggle to find that final form that, in a sense, represents the artist’s development.

Cara Ober is a young Baltimore artist who is garnering a great deal of interest both within and beyond this city. We recently had an exchange about her work, and I found her to be especially forthcoming.

Of the painting shown here, Ober says, “This image is a painting I sort of hate but love too much to get rid of. I have been fascinated with shadows and darkness, and the idea that for everything light and good, there is a balance. So I wondered what would happen if I made a really dark, almost black painting ... Paintings need to have a bit of agony in them to be really interesting, a struggle where you push yourself somewhere new and unknown, where you really have no idea what to do next, or where you have to let go of the elements you love best in order for the whole to work.”

—Alex Castro

I Believe opens May 5 at the Patterson

This is a show of 14 painters... Reception is 4-6 pm.

ArtDC

I will have two large drawings on display at the DC Art Fair with the Randall Scott Gallery. Booth 704.

"Randall Scott Gallery also showed well, especially the burned glass abstractions of Etsuko Ichikawa, which are reminiscent of the gunpowder pieces of Cai Guo-Qiang, but Ichikawa is developing her own method involving the use of molten glass that makes Cai's seem like childwork in comparison. Also notable were the imaginary teen worlds of photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten, and the gorgeous mixed media pieces by Cara Ober, which were my wife's favorites in the entire event."

- from Mid Atlantic Art News: F. Lennox Campello's art news, information, gallery openings, commentary, criticism, happenings, opportunities, and everything associated with helping to spread the word about the visual arts scene in and all around the Mid Atlantic region from Philadelphia to the great metropolitan capital of the United States of America.

i love...

wall photo from Baltimore

The Living Room at Randall Scott Gallery

The Living Room: A Marriage of Contemporary Art and Furniture
April 11th—May 19th
Opening Reception Saturday April 14, 6-9


Ruby Osorio

Joe Biel
Julia Fullerton-Batten
Charles LaBelle
Erika Larsen
Cara Ober
Manuel Ocampo
Ruby Osorio
Nick Walker

furniture provided by Contemporaria


Cara Ober

Randall Scott Gallery
1326 14th Street NW Washington,D.C. 20005
202-332-0806 (tel)
www.randallscottgallery.com

Curatorial Statement by Randall Scott:
Somewhere, long ago some art dealer leased a warehouse, a storefront, or an office and proceeded to remove everything inside it. They stripped it bare, exposed the concrete foundation, polished it and when it was ready, painted the walls white. The design echoed and a standard was developed. From galleries to museums, art centers and the corporate station this is how we have become accustomed to looking at art: object, separated from distraction in a clean room.

During construction last October, as I was stripping my gallery space bare, exposing the plywood foundation and eventually painting my walls a pure shade of white, I was thinking of this. Behind the handles of an industrial belt sander, the dust of 100 years of building history lingering in the air, I thought of the space's past. Not that it was once an office, or a Chinese laundry, or a brothel (which I was told it had been), but that it was originally someone's home.


Julia Fullerton-Batten

It was then I decided to do "The Living Room Show." I wanted to show the relationship of visual art and the living space; after all, the living space is generally the desired destination for the artwork a gallery exhibits. It would seem fitting, if just for one show, to return the building to its original function, a place where someone once lived, surrounded by what may have been, his or her art collection.

I had a choice to make, do I design the living room the way people actually live, or do I deck the place out as my dream space. The thought of having well lived in, couch potato compressed sofas and coffee cup stained coffee tables stocked with four separate TV remotes appealed to my rebellious self. The thought of kids toys strewn about, and a gallery cat sleeping wherever it wanted was very inviting. But, the fluidity of an Italian/European design just was too much to get out of my head. I am, in fact in love with modern furniture design, a process involving the concept of creating function and aesthetic, in context with both the history of Modernism and a vision of the future. Modern furniture does require a clean design. But, the end result would be the same, Object, surrounded by objects, working in harmony.


Manuel Ocampo

Since I have never fully recovered from my Ikea phase (which is ironic since I am in love with modern, non-particle board furniture), I contacted Deborah Kalkstein, owner of Contemporaria Georgetown. Deborah is a design goddess. Her sensibility and eye for the finest of furniture and her innovative interior designs I knew would be perfect. She will be designing the space and choosing the furniture from such designers as, Cappelini, MDA, and Minotti to name a few. Furniture both functional and works of art in their own right.

In choosing the artwork to integrate with the furniture design, I wanted artists who both technically work their surfaces, be it paint, graphite or photograph and create dialogue. I did not want work that was about formalistic attraction (that is, safe-pretty), I was looking for a collection of artists that understood formalism, grabbed it by the center of the tube and squeezed till understanding gave way to necessity of telling a story without necessarily "Telling" the story. Their work is not about how well they paint (and they can paint), or draw, or photograph, it is about how they understand and how they relay that understanding. Thus, the work can be entered on a number of levels, emotionally, intellectually and formalistically and can be lived with because it teaches, reveals and entices on a constant basis.

CV / Resume - Cara Ober

Cara Ober
3113 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
443.622.3542
Website: www.caraober.com
Email: oldbra@yahoo.com


EDUCATION
2005 M.F.A. in Painting. Maryland Institute College of Art.
1998 M.S. in Art Education. Western Maryland College.
1996 B.A. in Fine Art. Phi Beta Kappa. American University.

AWARDS
2007 Second Place. Bethesda Painting Awards. Fraser Gallery. Bethesda, MD.
2006 Individual Artist Grant Recipient for Painting. Maryland State Arts Council.
2006 Best in Show Award. Stretched Tight Juried Painting Exhibit. Target Gallery. Alexandria, VA.
2006 Semi-Finalist. Bethesda Painting Awards. Fraser Gallery. Bethesda, MD.
2005-2002 Surdna Fellowship Recipient. MICA Tuition Scholarship.
2004 Juror’s Choice Award. Circle Gallery. Fall Juried Show. Baltimore, MD.
1996 Ellen Van Swinderen Award for the Outstanding Senior Art Major. American University.

CURATORIAL
2007 The Jolly Cowboy. DC Arts Center. Warhol Grant Curatorial Initiative. Washington, DC. March - April.
2006 Arbitrary Specifics. Sub-Basement Studios. Baltimore, MD. June – July .
2006 Liquid / Solid: New Contemporary Works by Abstract Painters. Rice Gallery. McDaniel College. Westminster, MD. May.
2006 From Sea to Shining Sea. District of Columbia Arts Center. Visual Arts Initiative Curatorial Program. March – April.
2005 Prodigal Summer. G-Spot Audio-Visual Playground. Group show of MICA MFA 2005 Graduates. July 1 – 30.
2004 Inward Gazes: Creating Pieces of the Identity Puzzle. Rosenberg Gallery. Goucher College. Baltimore, MD. November.

SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2008 Poempaintings. The Randall Scott Gallery. Washington, DC. February. (upcoming)
2007 Cursed Blessing. Gallery Imperato. Baltimore, MD. August – September 22.
2007 Prayers and Joking: New Works by Cara Ober. Flashpoint Gallery. Washington, DC. January – February.
2006 Moving Sideways. Moxy Studios. New Orleans, LA. December 1 – 30.
2006 An Accumulation of Little Things. Lump Gallery. Raleigh, NC. June 1 – 30.
2005 Passing Notes: A Visual Collaboration by Cara Ober & Julie Benoit. Spare Room. Baltimore. October 15.
2005 To Live Outside the Law… MFA Thesis Exhibition. Meyerhoff Gallery. Maryland Institute College of Art. June 28 – July 8.
2004 Secret Signs: New Paintings and Collaborative Works by Cara Ober and Julie Benoit. G-Spot Audio Visual Playground. Baltimore, MD. February - March.

Juried Exhibitions
2006 Test Patterns. Artscape Public Art Exhibition. Bunting Gallery, MICA.. July 1 – 30.
2006 Stretched Tight. Target Gallery. Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA. February 24 – March 26. Juror: Jack Rasmussen.
2005 MFA Graduate Exhibition. Arlington Arts Center. Arlington, VA. July 19 – August 27.
2005 Systematic. Delaware Center for Contemporary Art. Wilmington, DE. Juror: Kristen Hileman. February – April.
2004 Fall Juried Show. Maryland Federation of Art. Circle Gallery. Baltimore, MD. October 1 - 30. Juror Gerald Ross.
2004 Spring Juried Show. Maryland Federation of Art. Circle Gallery. Baltimore, MD. May 5 - June 1. Juror: Tonia Matthews.
2003 Critic’s Picks: Artist in Residency Program. Maryland Art Place. Baltimore, MD. March 23 - April 17. Curators: Carter Ratcliff and Eugene B.Redmond.
2003 Emerging Artists: Juried Show. Maryland Federation of Art, City Gallery. Baltimore, MD. Juried by Susan Isaacs. March. 2002 Definitions: MAEA. Contemporary Museum. Baltimore, MD. November 9 - December 21. Juror Helen Molesworth.

Group Exhibitions
2007 Fresh Art. Karin Sanders Gallery. Sag Harbor, NY. May 26 – June 20.
2007 The Living Room. The Randall Scott Gallery. Washington, DC. April 11 – May 19.
2007 I Believe. Creative Alliance at the Patterson. Baltimore, MD. Curator: Jordan Faye Block. May.
2007 Fresh Paint. Arlington Arts Center. Arlington, VA. Curator: Carol Lukitch. December – January.
2006 MAP turns 25. Maryland Art Place. Baltimore, MD. Curator: Julie Anne Cavnor. November – December 15.
2006 Femme Effect Part Deux. Gallery Imperato. Baltimore, MD. Curator: Jordan Faye Block. March 1 – 30.
2006 Mostre Rossi (The Red Show).Ferrara, Italy. October 5 – 24. Curator: Rachel Bradley.
2006 Fall Preview. Moxy Studios. New Orleans, LA. September 5 – 30.
2006 New Western Art. Studio Gallery 27. Steamboat Springs, CO. July.
2006 Riviera Triennial. Riviera Gallery. Brooklyn, NY. May 4 – 21.
2006 Here and Now. MSAC Exhibition at MICA’s Meyerhoff & Decker Galleries. Baltimore, MD. May.
2006 Women, War, and Resistance. Pascal Gallery. Anne Arundel Community College. Arnold, MD. March 24 – April 28.
2006 Hopes and Schemes: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints. January 13 – 29. The Riviera Gallery. Brooklyn, NY.
2006 Born to be Wild. Studio Gallery 27. Steamboat Springs, CO. January 21 – 26.
2005 By Invitation Only. Maryland Art Place. Baltimore, MD. November 1- 30.
2005 Faculty Exhibition. Towson University. Cade Gallery. Towson, MD. October 28 – November 30.
2005 Birds of a Feather. Tribes Gallery. 285 East 3rd Street, New York, NY. August 1 – 30.
2005 Under Construction. Current Gallery. Curator Michael Benevento. August 26 – September 11. Baltimore, MD.
2005 Spring Group Show. Cubicle 10. Central Ave, Baltimore, MD. May 1 – June 18.
2005 Picture Window. Sponsored by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. Baltimore, MD.
2004 Systems, Codes, Chaos. Seed Vector Gallery Space. Baltimore, MD. October 1 - November 1.
2004 a journey. Chela Gallery. Baltimore, MD. March 6 - March 30.
2003 Pods: A Special Multimedia Exhibition. Whole Gallery. Baltimore, MD. Feb 22 - March 15.
2002 Disparate Voices. Rice Gallery. McDaniel College. Westminster, MD. October 21 - December 6.

PRESS
2007. The Baltimore City Paper. "Cursed Blessings" by Bret McCabe. August 22.
2007. The Washington Post. "In Painting Awards, Unexpected Outcomes" by Michael O'Sullivan. June 15.
2007 The Gazette. “Artists Ask Open Questions in Three Area Exhibit” by Claudia Rousseau. March 21.
2007 The Examiner. “Takes on Token: Object of Affection, Aggression, Reflection” by Robin Tierney. March 24.
2007 The Georgetown Voice. “A Local Artist’s Guide to Suburbia” by Madeline Anne Reidy. January 25.
2007 Washington City Paper. “Prayers and Joking” by Kriston Capps. January 24.
2006 Baltimore City Paper. “Great Outdoors” by Bret McCabe. July 26.
2006 Peek Review Volume Five. “Arbitrary Specifics” and “Interview with Curator Cara Ober” by Jack Livingston.
2006 Baltimore City Paper. June 26. “Underworld: Edgy Underground Group Show Well Suited to Gallery Space” by J. Bowers
2006 Baltimore City Paper. March 15. “Femme Effect Part Deux” by J. Bowers.
2006 Baltimore City Paper. March 1. Critics Picks: Femme Effect Part Deux at Gallery Imperato. By Mike Guliano.
2005 Baltimore Sun. November 2. “Daring Exhibits launch new art center at Towson.” By Glen McNatt.
2005 Baltimore City Paper. October 13. Critics Picks: “Passing Notes: A Visual Collaboration” by Bret McCabe.
2005 3rd Floor: A Portable Art Space. September Issue. Artist Bio and Color Reproduction of the oil painting “Carrier.”
2005 Washington Post. “On Exhibit: New Sensations” by Michael O’Sullivan.
2004 Baltimore Sun. December 9. “Intimate and Unsettling.” Review of Inward Gazes by Glen McNatt.
2004 Radar Review. Issue 12, December. “Inward Gazes” by Lauren Bender.
2004 Baltimore City Paper. October 13. “Seeds of Promise.” Review of Seed Vector Show by J. Bowers.
2004 Baltimore City Paper. October 6. “Critics Picks: Art.” Review of Matchbook at Spare Room.
2004 Baltimore City Paper: March 17. “Journey: A Traveling Art Show.” Review by Blake de Pastino.
2004 Baltimore City Paper: February 25. “Secret Signs.” Review by Ned Oldham.
2003 Radar Magazine: Issue 6, 2003. Review of Group Show at City Cafe by Lauren Bender.
2003 Maryland Art Place Critics in Residency Catalogue. “A Critic’s Notes” by Carter Ratcliff.
2003 Maryland Art Place Critics in Residency Catalogue. “Cara Ober” by David Page.
2003 Link Magazine Issue 8: Codex. MAP’s Critics in Residency program.
2003 Baltimore City Paper, March 19. “Critics Picks: Art.” Review of MAP Critics in Residency show.
2003 Radar Magazine: Issue 5, 2003. Preview of MAP Show.