Toronto native, Brooklyn-based artist, Julia Dault’s solo exhibition at Toronto’s contemporary hub, The Power Plant is a mesmerizing symphony of coloration. Color Me Badd (in homage to the R&B band from the 90s), Dault’s artwork does take you back in time through her use of bright, vibrant color pigments, including neon hues that defined this decade (when scrunchies reigned supreme and everything was “cool dude”). Dault brings together pinks, blues, electric greens and yellows that harmoniously unite into a raw sense of energy, that cannot be ignored by the audience, with uplifting qualities. This is happy art!
The musical themed title is also apt as Dault’s pieces evoke rhythmic qualities as her beautiful patterns dance across the canvas–viewers can sense a natural beat forthcoming from each of her pieces. I could not help, but to hear faint jazz tunes going through my head as I observed the artist’s work. It is impressive when art can stimulate the visual senses, yet set off accompanying auditory senses such as a music soundtrack. The musical theme is again reiterated by Dault’s use of a pattern that resembles a bar of music, that skates in all directions on the canvas as it flows freely, unobstructed as with any song or melody.
I was equally struck by the timelessness of Dault’s artwork, although contemporary, there were notes of Pop art, even flashes of Art Deco through the art’s sense of movement and rectilinear symmetry (hence, perhaps the connection to the jazz music playing in my head). As an abstract artist, who uses color to the fullest, Dault’s work does have similarities to contemporary master Gerhald Richter, whose rich palette and evocative brushwork do the talking. Julia Dault’s Color Me Badd is a must see!
Julia Dault
Electric Youth (2012)
Courtesy of The Power Plant
Julia Dault
Color Me Badd at The Power Plant – on view until 4 January 2015
http://www.thepowerplant.org/Exhibitions/2014/Fall/Julia-Dault–Colour-Me-Badd.aspx
Holly Knows Art. 