June Linowitz is one of those “can do” artists who has been engaged with art her whole life. In addition to being a very prolific artist, she has also been at one point ot another: an art teacher, a gallery director, an exhibition curator, and an art consultant with her own business, ArtSeen Inc.
For the Women of the DMV exhibition, I chose one of her key pieces from her “Planet in Peril” series. She writes about this series:
The work in the Planet In Peril series reflects my concern about climate change. From ancient times, The Four Elements have been a way to structure and understand our environment. When The Four Elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, are in balance, our world is in balance. This is clearly not the case nowadays. The Planet in Peril series depicts what are now everyday occurrences: fire, flood, drought, hurricanes and tornadoes. I decided to make my portrayals of these catastrophes as beautiful as I could, and to also to use unusual materials and techniques, so the viewer would be enticed into interacting with the work. I want the viewer to respond to the beauty and then recognize the destruction. In its own way, this series is a call to action.
Each mixed media work starts with a full scale drawing. A forty year old copy machine is then used to transfer the drawing onto handmade abaca paper that has been painted with encaustic. The transferred drawing is further enhanced with pan pastels and crochet thread. Finally, a “frame” is fashioned from dyed and shaped canvas.
Behold Planet in Peril: AIR by June Linowitz, Mixed Media, 39 x 52 x 2 inches, c. 2022.
| Planet in Peril: AIR by June Linowitz Mixed Media, 39 x 52 x 2 inches, c. 2022 |
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