Vanessa Irzyk

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Pattern as Meditation, Shelter in Place Gallery, 2021
Fresh Cuts, Longstreet Gallery, Eastham, MA, 2021
Space Shift, New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, MA, 2019

Coupling, Site Specific Installation via the DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park Corporate Program, 1 Main St., Cambridge, MA 2018
INTERSECT, Room68, Provincetown, MA, 2017
Fixed Point, Mosesian Center for the Arts, 2017

Flat Zen, Mingo Gallery, Beverly, MA, 2016
Intricacies, Paintings/Papercuts by Vanessa Irzyk, Mayor's Gallery, Boston City Hall, MA, 2015
Stuck in Amber, Lilypad, Cambridge, MA 2014
In Light of Color, Colo-Colo Gallery, New Bedford, MA, 2012
Moving Forward: New & Recent Works by Vanessa Irzyk, Distillery Gallery, South Boston, MA, 2011 To Mass a Crowd, Colo-Colo Gallery, New Bedford, MA, 2009
Hard Pressed, Brookline Arts Center, Brookline, MA, 2008
V vs. V: Girl Fight Tonight (Two Person Show), Tower Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Boston, MA, 2006

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
Dear So-and-So, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA

2019

Breakaway, Harvard Ed Portal, Allston, MA Art in Print, Volume 3, Zone 3, Allston, MA

2018

Forms of Expression; Geometric Abstraction in Boston Today, Boston, MA Resident Artist at Hourglass Boston Pop Up Shop, Boston, MA
Chromatic Dimensions, Retort Gallery, Boston, MA

ARTIST STATEMENT

This series of work focuses on geometric shapes shifting in space. My goal is to create the illusion of a sculpture in space. I first create a dynamic shape and then establish gradated shadows which push the shape forward into space. Intricate patterns and washes of color are then painted on the surface. I use a mix of solid shapes, patterns, and lines. Color drives the piece; there is a constant push and pull of color balance that evolves during the creation of a painting. Working on thick watercolor paper, I'm able to change the format of my canvas by cutting the surface into a charismatic shape instead of the traditional rectangle.

I create shapes that live in their own realms. From a distance the pieces can seem like sculptures or objects but as the viewer moves closer they can discern that it’s a painting on a 2D surface. For many years I’ve been drawn to having the viewer engage with my art and have to “inspect” the work to discern what it is. Each miniscule line is hand painted one at a time. With the aid of tape and masking fluid I construct shapes that are inhabited by linear patterns that are sometimes layered. I like to trick the eye with shifting planes and shapes that move in front and behind of one another to create tension. Each piece is meant to transport the viewer to a hypnotic and unusual space.

My work is highly intuitive and meditative. Nothing is pre planned or sketched out; the process is very much stream of consciousness. I find tranquility in creating intricate shapes and sometimes obsessive patterns with a flat brush. I relish in intricate mark making. In a world that is so fast paced and full of posts, comments, and breaking news, constructing these complex patterns calms me down, slows me down, and allows me to center my thinking.