TWO
JANUARY 15 - FEBRUARY 12, 2022
Opening Reception | January 15, 2022, 1-5pm
Michael Freitas Wood
Kristan Marvell
Shatto Gallery is pleased to announce TWO, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Michael Freitas Wood and Kristan Marvell. Kristan Marvell and Michael Freitas Wood question the relationship between man and the natural world, going back to the roots of humankind and ultimately directing to a point of introspection. This question is the focus of contemplation in both the formation and resolution of both artists’ works.
Michael Freitas Wood’s paintings are inspired by the Mandalas in Hinduism and Buddhism to discuss the unity and interconnectedness of all things and one another. His paintings incorporate contemporary culture, whether they be simple words or phrases, in a presentation of intense patterns to emphasize an entry into reflection. With the circular design symbolizing the infinity of life, Wood’s works question the epicenter that grounds each individual.
Kristan Marvell explores the confrontation fraught between the natural, the organic, and man’s manipulation and reconstruction of the world. With improvisational techniques—such as beginning with materials like styrofoam and later transitioning into bronze—Marvell composes sculptures through irreplicable gestures, much in the same way the world is constructed via natural elements. In the concluding works, there is a visible ode towards man’s attempt and struggle to encapsulate nature’s ability to elicit emotional transcendence.
TWO displays the distinct binary practices of questioning the stance of human and the self, of human and the world. Michael Freitas Wood speaks to the importance of recentering and balancing the self as we enter the second year of the pandemic, and Kristan Marvell examines the continuation of man’s manipulation of the natural world as we see Earth go through irreversible changes. Shatto Gallery hopes that TWO will become a catalyst to fathom and contemplate a new normal.
