The Black and Blues :: New Work by S.W. Dinge at OneWay Gallery Hope

We recently went to the opening of S.W. Dinge's solo show at OneWay Gallery Hope. We're both familiar with his work and were happy to see the newly created pieces that incorporated a restricted color palette of black and blue tints and tones as well as a number of assemblages. You'll find yourself lost in the details or the undulating circular forms in his paintings.

If you are in the Providence area, make sure to check out this show before it comes to a close on August 2. Gallery info. below the images.

Gallery Info:

OneWay Hope

The Hope Artiste Village

999 Main St. Pawtucket, RI

Unit 712

(New summer hours as of June 1, 2014)

Saturday 10am-5pm

Sunday 10am-2pm

Friday July 4th, 12pm-5pm

From the artist:

At the start of 2014, I decided to limit my color palette to contain predominantly only Blue and Black.  I employed this change as a tool to possibly spark new avenues of creative thought, and maybe uncover something new.  I figured, if you cut off one of your arms, you find a new way to tie your boots.  The nine Blue gouache and watercolor paintings in the exhibition were all done in the last six months.  As was “Everything that I Have Forgotten” (AKA: The Big Black Dot).  Tens of thousands of ink and acrylic characters all converging on one point in space.  The weight and density of the fragmented information has risen to such levels that it has now begun to collapse in upon itself.

The 3 dimensional assemblages involved in the show span a longer period since it takes time for each rusty, discarded piece to cross my worn out path and be married with other pieces for the ‘perfect’ fit.  With the 3-D pieces, I enjoy exploring more darker themes such as the mental effects of severe trauma, mass murder, sadomasochism, just to name a few.  These assemblages were worked on and completed between 2008 and 2014.

I have not placed any time line on how long I will work with a simplified palette.  I am drawn to the subtle varieties that Blue has to offer, particularly when in contrast to a bottomless, steady Black.  The challenge for me is to find the harmonious balance between these two sometimes opposing forces and the silence of the raw, unprimed canvas.  The Black and Blues.