The Language of Location

The Works of Nicole Foran, Karlene McConnell & Patricia Zalisko

October 14 – December 1, 2024

Three artists build visual narratives of our relationship to place, reflecting in marks, color, and abstracted form, the exchange between people and their environments.

Nicole Foran

Nicole Foran, The Conservatory, gouache/acrylic

Biography

Nicole Foran (MFA, University of Cincinnati) is a mixed media artist and educator based out of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Her work investigates memory, moral reasoning, theories of Determinism, and psychogeography. Foran’s work is exhibited internationally, and her work was recently featured in a solo exhibition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Umpqua Valley Arts in Oregon . She has been awarded grant funding through the Tennessee Arts Commission, Bonnaroo Works, and she has participated in residencies at the Contemporary Artist Center in upstate New York and the Vermont Artist Center.

Artist Statement

"Psychogeography is the study of the influence that geographical environments and locations have on the mind, the behavior and overall emotional state. This series weaves together remembered and existing spaces, both natural and artificial, to examine how place informs identity and how geography affects our relationships and ability to navigate society. My work investigates the ways in which our environment nurtures and defines us as individuals, while our communities and organizations divide and impact the landscapes in which we are situated. Escalating shifts in climate patterns and ongoing development contribute to the ongoing evolution of our environments to the point that some places exist only in our memories."

nicoleforan.org

Karlene McConnell

Karlene McConnell, Tall Grass and Yellow Cushion, acrylic

Biography

Karlene McConnell is an artist born in Pittsfield, MA and currently living in Ormond Beach, Florida. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education from the University of Central Florida. She is a former special education art teacher and museum curator. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows from New England to the Miami art fairs and is found in several corporate and private collections including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY and the permanent Lemerand Collection at Daytona State College, FL. She is represented locally by Arts on Douglas in New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Artist Statement

Karlene’s perceptions of nature are explored through gestural paintings. It has been said that this work serves as a bridge between the expectations of realism and the freedom of abstract expressionism. Nontraditional palettes are chosen to create conversations between cool and warm tones and to energize the compositions.

"McConnell uses her experiences of the real world to recreate the joy, excitement and even the magic of a walk in the woods. When she is “in the zone” she is exploring the interaction of vibrant colors or making simple marks that mimic nature and are pleasing to look at. Harking back to Matisse, we hear a similar theme: Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter’s command to express his feelings. This is about as close to a manifesto that we can imagine for the wild beasts (Les Fauves never wrote one) and it applies to McConnell as well. This kind of painter makes no effort to desaturate or blend but allows pure color, even discordant ones, to ring out at a maximum intensity.” - Dr. James Murphy, original director of the Atlantic Center for the Arts & former art professor at Florida State University.

karlenemcconnell.com | follow on instagram

Patricia Zalisko

Patricia Zalisko, Bewitched, mixed media on canvas

Biography

Zalisko has rich childhood memories of painting intricate Ukrainian eggs—one of her first experiences in the creative world. Many years later, her bold and evocative abstract work echoes the mark making and coloration of pysanky. Her art is now prompted by literature, language, and lyrics to create another visual language. Born and raised in New York City, Zalisko was encouraged by her parents to pursue a career and practiced law in the northeast after graduating from Fordham University School of Law until moving to Florida in 2004. Zalisko remained immersed in NYC’s rich visual and performing arts, studying art whenever possible at several NYC and Florida universities, and in private study or workshops. She continues to enrich her artistic practice in university classes, travel, residencies and fellowships. Zalisko’s work is regularly included in exhibitions and private and public collections in the US and abroad, including those of Warner Brothers, NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, CubeSmart, Orange County (FL), Lee County (FL), the University of South Carolina, Lake Eustis Museum of Art, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Zalisko’s work has been featured in museum exhibitions such as the Ukrainian Museum of NYC, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art of Chicago, the Orlando Museum of Art, the Baker Museum at Artis-Naples, the Ormond Memorial Museum and Gardens, Lake Eustis Museum of Art, the Maitland Art & Historical Museum, the Cornell Art Museum and the Marco Island Historical Museum. She has captured major awards and accolades in juried events, including Best of Show and First Place; and her work is published in catalogs included in the libraries of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Guggenheim Museum, the Zimmerli Museum, the Ukrainian Museum of NY, and the New York Public Library.

Artist Statement

"This series is a visual language describing the expanse of the exterior world and our place in it. The art speaks to how we occupy space: how we fill and clear it out to make room for more space, more experiences. The gestures of painting, collaging and drawing that define the art are prompted by literature, poetry, lyrics and words processed over and over on a continuous loop in my head. Cues are varied: in this instance, my verses prompted the art and were written as I created it. Rhythms and frequencies are caught on the surfaces in the process of dissolving, veiled or unearthed with occasional breakthroughs of the shapes or marks that they leave behind. The literal and visual combine on one plain, creating new narratives from earlier stories."

pkzart.com | follow on instagram