Elizabeth Leech Gallery: Lee Kelly and Bonnie Bronson Exhibit Review
Upon viewing this exhibit in early October, I did some background research on both artists in the exhibition, Lee Kelly and Bonnie Bronson. This allowed me to gain a better perspective on both them as artists as well as people. The following is information and review on both the artists and the work chosen for the Elizabeth Leech exhibit.
Lee Kelly – Maquettes – New work
Lee Kelly is an especially important artist in the context of contemporary sculpture in the northwest, and for that matter the country. Kelly has been a prominent member of the Portland art community for over 50 years and counting. I discovered that Kelly is also an avid traveler, which often influences his work. He has traveled to places such as Mexico, Tibet, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand as well as various other locations.
Kelly is best known for his monumental sculptures, which bring life to public spaces around Portland and the country. Lee began his artistic journey as a painter. In 1959 he graduated from the Museum Art School at the Portland Art Museum, which is no known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art. It is interesting to think of the ways in which is earlier practices as a painter have influenced his iconic sculptures of recent times.
The exhibit, titled Maquettes, provides an interesting experience that is beyond the ordinary for Lee Kelly’s work. The exhibition consists of eleven total pieces; nine smaller ones that sit on pedestals and two large ones that tower above the viewer on the ground. The pieces are, for the most part smaller, and in many cases studies for larger sculptures. They stand out on white pedestals sprinkled around the room. This is especially effective in showing the shear number of smaller studies Lee made in preparation for his large works, the ones that get the most attention from the general public. I went to Lee’s one man show a year ago in 2010, hosted by the Portland Art Museum, and I was able to witness the diversity Kelly has in his work. The pieces in the Portland Art Museum were wide-ranging, some using recycled materials, others dauntingly large and made out of industrial steel. This Elizabeth Leech show shows a softer, more poetic side of Kelly, and most importantly his artistic process. What I believe the gallery was trying to achieve with this show was for the most part accomplished; The process Lee Kelly takes in order to create massive sculptures for park settings. The sculptures occupy the gallery like poetic symbols. It’s as if, lining all of the works up in a line, there would be specific message the artists were trying to convey. I do think that the ration of small to large sculptures is appropriate. The power of the smaller pieces in a way is ‘larger’ than that of the big ones. I especially enjoyed the study for Henry Ford at Delphi (2009). The piece is shown below:
This piece was less polished than some of the other pieces in the show, and I thought, was a great example of process. It also had Lee Kelly’s signature circles and lyric-like lines. I sometimes think that smaller sculptures can be better studies, since larger ones often times are daunting in scale and difficult to take in at one viewing.
In comparison to the smaller pieces, the large ones are much more polished, again showing the process Kelly took from the concept for a piece to a study and then finally to the final piece. In the smaller pieces, the shapes are not as easy to make out, whereas in the larger ones the shapes are much more definite and distinct in relation to one another, creating a simple harmony. Here is one of the two larger pieces shown in the exhibit, titled Nepal II (2011):
As a whole I thought Lee Kelly’s exhibit was successful in communicating to the viewer the process the artists takes in order to create his pieces he’s so well known for. He does not simply create a large sculpture for a public space in one go.
Bonnie Bronson – The Early Years – Painting, sculpture, and works on paper
I was not aware of artist Bonnie Bronson’s work until I visited this collection. Bronson was apparently an important and highly respected Portland, OR-based sculptor who worked with and across several media. Much like Lee Kelly, Bronson’s work is displayed publically both locally and nationally. Bronson’s pieces are displayed in several public institutions throughout the Northwest.
Bonnie Bronson was born in Portland, OR in 1940 and attended the Portland Art Museum School (now PNCA), as did Kelly. This exhibit was quite appealing because it offered a glimpse at two northwest artists who are both widely acclaimed and established and both went to the same institution for education and training. Both artists are similar in style and way they use sculpture in more lyrical and flowing manner.
Bronson’s part of the exhibit was titled The Early Years, because it was compromised of pieces she made upon graduating as a young artist from Portland Art Museum School. These pieces show the birth of her signature style as a artist.
The show is exhibits a series of paintings and sculptures that have been painted. The paintings are abstract washes of paint that are essentially “action paintings”. Here is one Untitled (turquoise) (1962-63):
In harmony with that piece is a sculpture that hangs from the wall, Untitled (Large White Construction) (1965):
Both pieces use paint loosely and in a way that is explorative. It is interesting to compare both Kelly’s and Bronson’s sculptural pieces. Both use curves and angles in a way that creates dynamic pieces. Bronson has the addition of color in the form of paint on her sculptures. Kelly’s pieces are much more dimensional as well.
All in all, this exhibit was a strong example of two Portland-based artist’s work. They both have similar qualities to their pieces, but are also unique in their own right.
-Matt
