gallery visit: robin luciano beaty & lanoue fine art

"My process is the visceral journey of discovering something reminiscent rather than the recording of a specific space. The medium of encaustic provides me with that exploratory means of expression. Its qualities are sublime and unpredictable, additive and subtractive, translucent and sculptural..." - Lost & Found Artist Statement, Robin Luciano Beaty

I've been a fan of Robin Luciano Beaty's encaustic mixed media artwork since seeing her studio tour in Apartment Therapy a few years ago, and regretted missing her exhibit in Boston last summer. Her current exhibit Lost & Found at Lanoue Fine Art was extended, so Mike and I grabbed lunch at Berkeley Perk and battled some wicked wind on the walk to Newbury Street.

It was worth it... Luciano Beaty's work is just gorgeous; smooth, sculpted layers of encaustic wax punctuated by found objects, organic material and sparkles of glass and nails. The thick textural quality of her paintings was what really drew me in, as each surface morphed quickly from deep translucent planes into rough, gritty sand, wood, various weights of textile fabric... even what looked like a dried sea fan and a mossy strip of tree bark. I knew I needed to see her work in person but didn't realize how much more detail and texture could be seen up close.

Confluence #28 and Quiescence #6, both 36" x 36" mixed media on panel. Quiescence #6 was by far my favorite... and not just because it's a seascape. Though so many found materials are incorporated, Luciano Beaty achieves the goal of making the entire piece more than just the sum of its parts... I appreciated how they were combined so intentionally and with so much care to each layer, and how each contrasted but still complimented the adjoining layers of material.

Mike liked Traversing, a 72" x 36" diptych. He said it reminded him of a shoreline from the sky, with breaking waves and rocks. For an engineer, my boyfriend gets a lot of credit for accompanying me to art galleries and fairs and taking the time to consider and talk about abstract art with me. Love him.

Remains To Be Seen was another favorite of mine and was the piece I was most excited to see in person after seeing it online. Even in this photo you can't begin to see all the different materials, layers, colors and techniques used in each 5"x5" panel. It almost seemed like no material or brush-stroke was duplicated... each panel projected its own unique quality while remaining relative to the others. Some were speckled with tack nails and wrapped in rusting metal mesh... some were lake-smooth with gesso or aluminum... others were unique moonscapes of bubbling wax encapsulating vintage photographs or handwritten letters. I could have looked at this one for hours.

Lost & Found also featured a couple artists I hadn't heard of including the sculptures of Johan Hagaman and the paintings of Andrew Saftel.

He's More Cloud and Stream, a wire, metal and resin sculpture.

Scenic Road by Tennessee artist Andrew Saftel... you can't tell from the photo but so much of what looks "painted" on is actually carved into this thick piece of wood. A lot of Saftel's paintings had this same engraved quality, with many patterns and symbols recessed into thick layers of vibrant paint. I loved the soulful Americana displayed throughout all his work.

My photographs really don't do any justice... there is really nothing like seeing art up close and in person. After leaving the gallery we walked across the Charles River to Cambridge so Mike could do a couple hours of work at his lab while I got coffee and answered emails :)