OUT OF SIGHT:
THE ART OF ROGER WARNECKE
MAR.2, 2007 - MAR.18, 2007
OPENING RECEPTION MAR.2, 2007 5:30 - 8 PM.
Curated by Beth Hibbard
………………………………........................................................................
Roger Cushing Warnecke, the second son of John Carl Warnecke and Grace Cushing,
was born in Oakland California on August 3, 1949. Roger grew up in the San
Francisco Bay Area, attending schools in Piedmont, San Francisco, and then
later the Orme School in Arizona. Roger became a professional artist while
still in High school at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He
was acclaimed as the “…student at Andover with more promise as
an artist than any other in the prior 20 years”, by Bartlett Hayes,
Chairman of the Art department of that high school. Upon graduating from Andover
in 1968, Roger entered Stanford University, where he studied art with Nathan
Oliveira and Frank Lobdell. Then, in his sophomore year, he dropped out of
Stanford, explaining that he simply did not feel well enough to attend.
Within a year he was diagnosed as having acute schizophrenia. Roger was hospitalized
and lost all his previous desire to paint or participate in art. He did not
paint again for over 25 years. Then, in 1994 Roger received new medical treatment
which has relived many of the symptoms of his medical condition. With the
helpful aid of Nanette Dusi, the well known Humbolt artist and art therapist,
Roger started to paint again.
Living now independently in Sonoma County, Roger continues to paint enthusiastically
at a historic saloon, remolded into a studio by his father John. Roger is
inspired by California regional painters, such as Thiebaud, Abstract Expressionists,
such as Frank Stella, and Impressionists, such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Soutine.
He believes in Painting with the seasons and connecting to nature’s
rhythms through his own artwork. His paintings and drawings are “landscapes”,
depicted by interlocking abstract patterns.
Roger describes his process:
“ I think about the pen on the paper and the drawing that’s there
that I'm creating.” “They are designing the images of freshly
mowed lawn and field grass. When you put a lot of scribbles down you get a
design. The relationship between the artist and the paper is perfect.”
A collection of Roger's paintings and drawings will be featured at Oakland's
ABCo Artspace, on Friday March 2nd, in conjunction with the first Friday art
walk in downtown Oakland.
Upcoming Shows:
The extremely tentative schedule
December 1st 2006, The Art of Survival
October 26th 2006, Moi? and the Wau Wau Sisters
September 16th 2006, Thirteen Titles
July 8th 2006, Fort Oakland
June 2nd 2006, Slightly Bawdy
May 6th 2006, Thirty one thirty five
|
|||||||||||
