Ruth Oisteanu Illuminated Landscapes and Valery Oisteanu Lighter Than Air (Collages and Assemblages)
Artists statements
Our world is a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, patterns, and designs that form the objects of our environment. We are constantly bombarded by images and slogans that inform our daily existence. In my collages, I take these common visuals and juxtapose them with others that would never appear together. these new compositions seem to be usual but upon closer scrutiny and further examination one can see that they are most definitely unusual. They now can be defined as Illuminated Landscapes that exist only in these one of kind, hand cut collages. They are influenced by my travels, my imagination n the thousands of pictures in my files they come together in my subliminal, intuitive mind forming new and exciting surreal scenarios. These narrative collages often hold a secret story that the viewer can assemble in their own mind. I invite you to enter my world of fantasy and humor.
My artwork is associated with the surrealist experiments of my mentors May Wilson, Ray Johnson & John Evans who form the famous trio of neo-dada pioneers in New York city. This particular series, entitled Lighter Than Air, is a complex composition of 60 Vispo-collages (Visual Poetry collages) that began as an original, handmade book published by Spuyten Duyvil Press in 2017, and then evolved into prints on canvas of selected images from the book. This partial collection is accompanied, in the glass case, by assemblages created earlier (1974-94) from found objects. These 3D boxes and Jar-storages illustrate the archeology of the East Village and were collected during special expeditions throughout the village with my friend and teacher John Evans, of Ave B school of art. Some of these works have been exhibited in galleries and museums here and abroad. They represent my daydreams and fantasies inspired by run amok brain cells.
On view at Tompkins Square library: March 16 - May 31, 2022
