Written by Marsha Mack
Lane Meyer Projects is proud to present Enchanted, a two-person exhibition by Baltimore-based artist Sophia Belkin and New York City-based artist Ben Godward. Visually linked through languages of color, material, and texture deployed in lyrical yet differing modalities, works in Enchanted blur the traditional lines of sculpture and painting.
Sophia Belkin takes inspiration not only from natural elements such as petals, branches, and the visual qualities of water, but from how we unconsciously and intentionally adjust our vision in order to perceive. Her stretched fabric paintings feature multiple techniques with overlapping layers and patterns, deploying techniques utilizing digitally printed, dyed, and screen printed fabrics. To notice small details, attention must be scaled and directed. How we tune our focus and how we choose to look varies widely throughout the day, opening infinite possibilities to seeing and interpretation.
In his three-dimensional poured urethane resin wall sculptures, Ben Godward captures movement, light, and color in his coincidentally floral forms. Made by pouring layers of colored resin into concave molds, the resultant works are resonant of blooming technicolor flowers. Rich oranges, bright pinks, and deep transparent blues float within borders of overlapping transparent layers, tricking the eye into perceiving motion. Working in a minimalist tradition, Godward visually harnesses energy and light, cast in a summertime glow.
Presented at summer’s end, with days quickly shortening and once verdant leaves beginning to curl, Enchanted offers a lingering glimpse into complex surfaces and facets of perception.
Sophia Belkin currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD. She earned her BFA in drawing and printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2012. She has participated in residency programs in Wisconsin, Vermont, Norway, Russia, Estonia and the Joan Mitchell Foundation in New Orleans. Recent solo exhibitions include Slife of Water at Dinner Gallery (NY), Peeling Shadows at Ochi Projects (Los Angeles), and Ground Swell at Resort Gallery (Baltimore)
Ben Godward received his M.F.A. in Sculpture from the State University of New York at Albany and won the 2007 Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture. He has shown extensively in New York including such galleries as Transmitter, Marc Straus, Elijah Wheat Showroom, ****, Famous Accountants and NorteMaar. Godward has also completed large outdoor public art projects at Franconia Sculpture Park, MN and Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens NY. His work has been featured in The L Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Sculpture magazine and on WNYC Radio.
