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Call 620.933.2787 or email info@vernonfilleyartmuseum.org for more information or inquiries on purchases. Please come visit us in person to see the full exhibition and experience the artwork personally while they are on display at The Filley! 40% of sales are donated to the art museum (which is tax deductible for those who purchase artwork during this show).  

Click here to view work by John DeAndrea in the current exhibit!

ARIEL DEANDREA

OIL PAINTINGS:

Ariel DeAndrea explores the movement, life and spirituality in the design and symbolism of an otherwise lifeless object: the origami crane. Creating oil paintings that feature the paper birds in natural settings, bodies of water from around the world, she brings the origami crane to life in its animated travels on the surface of the water, riding along the current or the wave and flying. This draws focus on the life and beauty of a single crane, allowing the origami bird to become much more than a folded piece of paper.

The cranes’ communion with nature in these pieces speaks to both Japanese cultural practice, spirituality in Shinto and the unique reinterpretation of the artist to reflect her personal spirituality.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

As a young girl I was entranced by the Japanese mythology of the red crested crane. The story went that a red crested crane could live a thousand years and if you folded 1,000 origami cranes you got to make a wish for the sick to get better. Growing up without religion in the home, the commitment of folding 1,000 cranes to make a wish was a practical form of prayer I could understand, having never been taught to pray.

When my father fell ill, I struggled with how to cope with this adversity, I turned to folding a thousand cranes. It eased the helplessness I felt. Carefully selecting the paper for each bird and meditating on my purpose for folding them, the plan to set them to flight began to form. This began my installation work, completing a total of 3 flocks, each with 1,000 cranes: first, for my sick father (see image Hope); second, when our country went to war in Iraq; third, when my mother fell ill (see image Salvation). Creating a space for these origami cranes to fly was a way to share my hope, love and commitment to the wish I had made with others. The impact of seeing each bird with its space to fly, knowing that the hands of one person carefully crafted each one, resonated with my audience.

I wanted to take this one step further by beginning a series of paintings featuring a solitary origami crane because as amazing as 1,000 cranes are. Each bird is very important to the whole; each crane should be cared for in the process. It is not just about the impressive whole, but each component. I feel that in my style of painting I am able to further breath life into the symbol of one solitary crane by placing it in real life situation where it gets to behave as a real bird would, riding with the current or the water, nestled amongst plants (see image Crane#5) and interacting with the human form so that it might take on greater symbolism as a talisman of hope. Then one might look at the entire flock and see that it is made up of 1,000 different personalities, spirits and moments of hope. Although the crane could be seen as little more than a child’s toy, in the setting of my paintings, the illusion becomes real and the cranes take on character, personality, and life. To truly express the hope of the crane, I have also created the juxtaposition of the crocodile, an ancient creature that represents ultimate destruction and fear in my dream life. It is by seeing the delicate nature of the origami crane against the brutal and rough nature of the crocodile that my audience is able to truly understand the preciousness of this paper bird and understands the human figures concern with guarding it (see image Guardian) and can feel the sadness of the human figures weakness and fear being great enough to sacrifice it (see image Concessions).

My goal in the execution of this work is to create imagery just realistic enough to convince my audience that the world is real, while maintaining a painterly and interpretive approach that allows for emotionality in the work. Up close I like the strokes to inspire feeling and decisiveness.

About Ariel DeAndrea 

Ariel DeAndrea is an Oil Painter and Installation Artist based out of New York and Los Angeles. Website: www.arieldeandrea.com

Education:

Bachelor of Fine Art with High Honors, California College of Arts and Crafts (California College of the Arts), Oakland, CA. 2005

Coin Scholarship recipient for Academic Excellence in the Arts. 2004

Upcoming Exhibition:

Vernon Filley Art Museum, Pratt, KS, John DeAndrea and Ariel DeAndrea, April 22nd to August 12th, 2016

Solo Exhibitions:

Thinkspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Chasing the Current, May 2015
Jampol Project(s) Gallery, New York,NY, Ariel DeAndrea, July 2014
Solo(s) Project House Gallery, Newark, NJ, Cycle of the Tigris, September 2014
Thinkspace Gallery, Culver City, CA, Dreams of Flight, 2013

 

Group Exhibitions:

Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Pow wow!: Exploring the New Contemporary Movement, February, 2015
Thinkspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, La Familia: 10 Year Anniversary, January 2015
Thinkspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Fresh, October, 2014
Scope Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL, December, 2014
The Gateway Project, Newark, NJ, Emerald City, August-October, 2014
Buelowstrasse 97, Berlin, Germany, #ProjectM, June , 2014
LA Convention Center, LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA, Littletopia, 2014
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, CA, Beyond Eden, 2013
Scope Miami Beach, Art Basel, Miami, FL, 2013
Cella Gallery, North Hollywood, CA, Never a Dull Moment, 2013
Thinkspace, Culver City, CA, Art for Awareness, Oceanic Awareness Collaboration, 2013
The Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles, CA, Girls Doin’ It, 2012
Andi Campognone Projects, Pamona, CA Art for Awareness, Oceanic Awareness Collaboration, 2012
Thinkspace Gallery, Culver City, CA Picks of the Harvest, 2012
White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA Art on the Move, 2012
Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA  Beyond Eden, 2011
Bardot, Art Basel, Miami, FL The Space Next Door,  2009
Tecoah Gallery, San Francisco, CA Sketch to Finish,   2009
Milton Hershey Museum, Hershey, PA, This Incredible Life,  2009
Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, Paperwork, 2008
Lex Leonard Gallery, Jersey City, NJ Black September, 2008
Design Crib, Art Basel, Miami, FL  Jersey City at Basel,  2008
Thomas Bruce Gallery, San Francisco, CA Alumni Show,  2008
Lex Leonard Gallery, Jersey City, NJ Invisible fields,  2007

 

Residency:
Solo(s) Project House Summer Residency, NY/NJ, 2014

Speaker:
Long Beach Museum of Art, guest speaker, 2015

Panel Discussions:

Solo(s) Project House, Newark, NJ, Cycle of the Tigris, 2014
The Gateway Project, Newark, NJ, Emerald City, 2014
The Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles, CA, Girls Doin’ It, 2012
Lex Leonard Gallery, Jersey City, NJ Black September, 2008

Publications:

British Origami Society Magazine Issue 290, Cover and interior Featured Artist article, February 2015
Sour Harvest, “Interview with Artist Ariel DeAndrea for ‘Chasing the Current”, 2015, <http://sourharvest.com/2015/05/14/interview-with-artist-ariel-deandrea-for-chasing-the-current/&gt;
High Fructose (online), 2013, <http://hifructose.com/2013/10/30/preview-mari-inukai-and-ariel-deandrea-at-thinkspace/&gt;
Juxtapoz, November 2013
Miracle Mile Artwalk Catalogue, Summer 2012
The Hudson Reporter, 2007