E L E N I S M O L E N
recent work
December 5 - 27, 2020
Saturdays 1:00 - 6:00 pm
and by appointment
Buster Levi Gallery, Cold Spring, New York is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by
Eleni Smolen on view December 5 - 27, 2020. The Gallery will be open for limited viewing on
Saturdays from 1:00 - 6:00 pm and by appointment.
The common ground which runs through this recent body of drawings is, perhaps, an
acknowledgement of moods and emotions concerned with sorrow, solitude and quiet despair.
Responding to events in the wider, outside world and the inevitable emotional toll on the
psyche, the artist initiated a new series of drawings inspired by the film, The Turin Horse, by
Hungarian director, Béla Tarr. Smolen states, “I have had several indelibly imprinted
experiences and seeing this particular film for the first time was one of them. The haunting and
mesmerizing experience of the long takes and the repetitive soundtrack combined with the
minimal yet crushing narrative, resonated with me a long time ago and the events over the
course of the past few months made me want to revisit the film.”
Four unframed drawings from The Turin Horse Series are included in the exhibition (51 x 46
and 46 x 51 inches) in charcoal, graphite and sumi ink: Breath I, Ghost I, The Well, and
Heading Home.
The other new series this year, Surfacing, is comprised of much smaller works (7 x 5 in) on
either wooden panels or acrylic rice paper. Surfacing I is one large panel, 28 x 70 inches,
comprised of 56 wooden pieces, each 7 x 5 inches. Mediums vary from a combination of
charcoal, sumi ink and/or oil in layered, monochromatic tones of black, white and blue-grey.
Drawings on acrylic rice paper in the same series are all individually framed and presented as
unique pieces. The intimacy of the scale (7 x 5 in) contrasts with the physicality of the layering
involved in working up many of the surfaces here and the artist became aware of the emotional
release. She states, “I felt more and more compelled to keep doing these little works, not
knowing where they were taking me, or what they meant, but finding consolation and balm in
the process. I realized much later that they were a direct reaction to the corresponding events
over the course of the summer; I had lost my desire for exuberant color and went out and
stocked up on charcoal and sumi ink.” While most of the work in the Surfacing series are
miniature abstractions and patterns – sometimes combined with strands of thread, here and
there one might find trees, forests, flowers, birds, and mountains as well as hand-scribed entries
from the artist’s journal or a quotation from a revered individual.
Smolen explains, “The emotional impetus for the series was, initially, the feeling of going under,
feeling radically hopeless and despondent, not just because of professional disappointments due
to the pandemic lockdown, but also, because of the traumas and cruelty which seemed to
escalate and pervade our news cycle in a torturous, repetitive manner. The work ended up
becoming a lifeline of sorts; something to hold onto and pull myself through the storm.”
Working through a particular idea and image through multiple riffs and variations has been
standard practice for the artist since she started painting in the mid-nineties. Series include the
early, abstract Biophilia, Dharma Rain and Persistent Song; the horse motif in
Ridgeline and Wherever I Travel; and the memorialized girl holding the bird in Girl by
the Sea and Guardian Series. (elenismolen.com/paintings)
Smolen is deeply connected to and concerned about the natural world. She ascribes to Edward
O. Wilson’s concept of “biophilia,” the word he coined to describe humankind’s deep affinity for
nature. The artist believes nature is, as Wilson describes it, “the refuge of the spirit, remote,
static, richer even than imagination.” A former gallerist, the artist decided to return to her own
practice in 2018 when she closed the brick and mortar TheoGanz Studio on Main Street in
Beacon where she presently lives with her husband, David, and their dog, Henry. She has a
studio in Newburgh, New York at Regal Bag Studios on the waterfront of the Hudson River.
Smolen has had exhibitions at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance; The Hammond Museum &
Japanese Stroll Garden; The Woodstock Artists Association and Museum; Holland Tunnel
Gallery (Paros, Greece; Newburgh, NY), Shippensburg University Gallery (juror, Stephen
Haller) and September, Hudson, NY, among other venues. For further information, visit
elenismolen.com. The artist maintains TheoGanz Studio as a business which represents original
Inuit graphics and carvings from Kinngait – formerly known as Cape Dorset.
(theoganzstudio.com)
Buster Levi Gallery, an artist-run cooperative, was established in April, 2014. Martee Levi serves
as the gallery’s director. Exhibitions change monthly and feature work by one or two gallery
members, as well as group and invitational exhibitions and guest curators. The fourteen current
members are John Allen, Ada Pilar Cruz, Tim D’Acquisto, Barbara Smith Gioia, Pat Hickman,
Grace Kennedy, Bill Kooistra, Martee Levi, Maria Pia Marrella, Ursula Schneider, Eleni Smolen,
Nancy Steinson, Lucille Tortora and Grey Zeien. (busterlevigallery.com) Smolen joined the
gallery in January 2020. For further information/appointment: Eleni Smolen, 917.318.2239 or