ASPHALT: Expressionist Photo Exhibit by Ellie Perla

This is the latest exhibit taking place at my gallery in the Wynwood Art District on June 9th, 2012.  It features spectacular new work by the amazing matriarch of our clan - Ellie  Perla!  Many of her photographs helped to guide scenes in Gibbin House and spur on the stagnating grey cells when imagination took the day off:)  Her beautiful photographs of Romania and Vienna are sprinkled throughout this blog, but if you find yourself in the Miami area the weekend of June 9th, please do check out her work in person!

ASPHALT: The Expressionist Photography Series by Ellie Perla

Launching at ATELIER 1022

      

Ellie Perla’s ‘ASPHALT’ series showcases a unique visual technique that superimposes translucent layers of urban and nature images from recent photographs taken in New York and Washington DC over portraits from the artist’s own archives.  Combined, the images are intended to evoke the idea of simultaneous thought, of how the mind can be both in the past and present, while also engaged in wishful thinking.  Ellie Perla’s photographs communicate this through expressionist compositions that are at once fractured and harmonious, abstract and organic, ethereal and concrete. The kinetic and emotional images form a nostalgic and deeply personal narrative that takes the viewer along the artists’ geographic and creative journey.  The ‘ASPHALT’ series derives its name from the texture of asphalt, which is the one constant in Ellie Perla’s continuous moving through cities and their surroundings.

Ellie Perla - ASPHALT Series

On her inspiration for this latest project, Ellie Perla says: “Sometimes we remember people's faces when looking into nature's intricate patterns. The portraits in this collection are memories that came to me and stirred my imagination while strolling through Central Park.  I liked the idea of showing transition, from the visual to the psychological, by blending ‘fleeting’ snapshots from a compact point-and-shoot camera with portraits that carry a lot of personal significance.”

Ellie Perla (b. 1957) studied animal husbandry at the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Romania, and holds a degree from the New York Institute of Photography.  Her photographs have appeared in such renowned international publications as National Geographic Traveler Español, Vanidades, Cosas, Expansion, Glamour Español, Quien, El Comercio, and O Estado de Sao Paulo.  She also wrote a monthly Miami arts and travel column for the Mexican women’s magazine Kena. Most recently, she participated in the charitable project Art Platform (UK) with her acrylic canvas piece Iluminada. The piece was also featured in the project’s poetry and art publication ‘Inspiration Speaks’.  Ellie Perla currently lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and is a resident artist at ATELIER 1022 Gallery in the Wynwood Arts District.

ATELIER 1022 Gallery Presents KRAFTWERK: The Steampunk Engine

  ATELIER 1022

ArtVergnügen! the pleasure of art ...

presents

KRAFTWERK: The Steampunk Engine

On October 8^th Steampunk Gear is recommended...suspended reality is mandatory

Miami Beach, September 26, 2011 – ATELIER 1022 Studio and Fine Art Gallery brings quixotic industrial fantasy to Miami’s Wynwood Art District on October 8^th, 2011, with the special exhibit “KRAFTWERK: The Steampunk Engine” – a new collection of photography, portraiture, and mixed media works from resident artists Ellie Perla, Susana Perla-Mendoza, and Carlos Rodriguez-Feo. The exhibit is complemented by a selection 19^th Century Victorian artifacts.  The event is open from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM; at Atelier 1022 Gallery on 2732 NW 2^nd Avenue; and coincides with the Wynwood Art Walk for the month of October.

         "Part of ATELIER 1022’s philosophy from its inception has been to celebrate the innocence, refinement, and ingenuity of yesteryear.  In reconciling these aspects of the past with the modern experience, a new aesthetic emerges, both beautiful and honest.  The gallery’s three resident artists are united in the belief that beauty and honesty do not have to be mutually exclusive.  Their philosophy runs throughout the scope of their work, from Ellie’s “recycled” art pieces and 3-D Stereocards to Susana’s “Acid Impressionism” and Carlos’s photo experiments with vintage cameras, infrared techniques, and large-format film.  The ‘Steampunk’ movement, the artists feel, encapsulates much of what they are attempting to achieve at this Wynwood studio, and their collaborative efforts in creating the exhibit once again confirms the sense of community at ATELIER 1022 – hence the ‘tongue-in-cheek title KRAFTWERK, the German word for ‘power plant’,” explains Gallerist Carola Perla.

  

            One of the main features of the KRAFTWERK exhibit is the collection of Steampunk-inspired portrait photographs – a collaborative project conceived and created on site with the help of all of ATELIER 1022’s resident artists and partners.  Although presented in two separate formats by Ellie Perla and Carlos-Rodriguez Feo, every member of the gallery contributed to the staging, costumes, lighting, makeup, backdrop art, modeling, and shooting of the witty conversation pieces.  For the October 8^th event, the backdrop painting will continue on display to give visitors an opportunity to interact with the installation and carry on the playful ‘Steampunk’ dialogue. 

            Another major voice in this exhibit will be Susana Perla-Mendoza with her industrial-themed “Acid Impressionism” photographs which draw parallels between the modern and the historic, by blurring the lines of both.  Central among these is a triptych that re-imagines the most infatigable emblem of Belle Epoch engineering – the Eiffel Tower – in order to capture the atmosphere of the original excitement as the structure was first unveiled.  The accompanying stereoscopic viewer from the 1900 Paris World Exhibition reinforces the novelty of the era’s budding technology.   

            The Victorian industrial experience of the KRAFTWERK: The Steampunk Engine exhibit extends to the carefully designed music playlist, ‘Steampunk-ed’ antiques, and the limited-time presentation of ATELIER 1022’s signature vintage-inspired stationary and specialty gifts.

           

            About ATELIER 1022

            Atelier 1022 recreates the sense of an artistic community in a public space.  Atelier 1022 permanent exhibit showcases an array of fine art photography, paintings, and mixed media works from resident artists Ellie Perla, Susana Perla-Mendoza, and Carlos Rodriguez-Feo, and aspires to capture the gallery’s art community concept with a collection of elaborate canvases, dynamic color prints, and examples of rare photo processes.  Atelier 1022 invites art lovers to join in and celebrate beauty, colors, and rhythms in a place where art is made and polyglot gossip resounds off the walls.  Future art exhibits for 2011 and 2012 are planned around such themes as: hard rock art and music, with live bands; steam punk art and fashion show; documentary photography and short films; fairytale books and young art; graffiti and tattoo art; the history of photography; and many more.  Atelier 1022 Studio and Fine Art Gallery is located in Miami’s Wynwood Art District. Address: 2732 NW 2^nd Avenue, Miami, FL, 33127. Website: www.atelier1022.com; Tel: 786-385-6066; E-mail: atelier1022@aol.com.  Media kits with further information on the gallery and high resolution photographs are available upon request.

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MEDIA CONTACT:  Carola Perla, Tel: 786-385-6066; E-mail:  carolaperla@hotmail.com.