Tim Church & Redhawk Mallet: Formative Nature
Canyon Road Contemporary Artist Reception
Tim Church & Redhawk Mallet Formative Nature
Friday, August 15th from 5-7pm join us for an evening with Vibrant toning on Copper
artist Tim Church along with Stone Creation's Marlys Mallet and Michael Redhawk.
Featuring lively discussions with the artists, new artworks, live music, & libations.
Church built on his knack for chemistry and his proven abilities in medical research to explore new artistic processes that he developed, eventually leading to the discovery of his own aesthetic. The extraordinary range of organic forms, colors, shapes, and contours testifies to his instincts and ability as the founder of a genre in its infancy.
“I’ve tried everything I can conceive of—every chemical process, every environment, every approach to working with copper. I continue to push the materials to their limits. If someone wants to try to replicate my work—good freakin’ luck. I’m a scientist who has put an enormous amount of effort, chemistry, and research into this artistic process.”
Born in Salinas, California, Tim first gained experience working with metal as a teenager in produce packing houses. During his college years, he expanded his skills in metal work as a part-time machinist for a biomechanical research laboratory. While pursuing a medical degree at Tulane, Tim discovered the New Orleans art scene. Living in the French Quarter, he saw various copper sculptures and fountains, and began to develop a love for the different colorations and dimensionality of copper. Thus he began his appreciation for turning copper into works of art, beginning with his own fountains and sculptures.
In 2012, Church started to shift away from sculpture to wall art. It was then that he dedicated himself to what he calls “extreme copper experimentation,” a decision that ultimately led to the work you see today.
His work ethic and materials-mastery mean that his aesthetic sensibilities continue to evolve as he incorporates ongoing research with breakthroughs in the sciences. The results tell the story of his success — the richest textures, colors, and effects in copper found in the art world today, and a level of work unachieved by any others. The art world is taking notice that his creative process is hard to emulate, his artwork rare and unique, and for most collectors, something they have never seen before.
https://www.canyoncontemporary.com/artist/tim-church
The idea for these "Stone Creations" came as a result of Michael's affiliation with gemstones as a jewlery designer and Marlys's natural attraction to the abstract patterns found in so many mineral specimens. The final result of their collaboration is a new genre of unique, three-dimensional works of art which present collectable quality stones in an elevated and artistic format -- an exciting expansion from their "Unison" series.
At an international gem show in the summer of 2015, while on a quest to purchase smaller opal gemstones, the couple came across two rather spectacular agate specimens. Although the stones were too large to be used in jewelry, they purchased them anyway.
For over two months the stones were set aside and unused until one morning, on their deck, while polishing off a thermos of coffee, a creative spark was lit and and the artists began to develop a plan. Excitement ran rampant as they began to approach problems, discuss solutions and ultimately come to the idea for a final presentation. Both were anxious to get right ot work to bring their idea to life. Driven by their "creative spirit," their first mixed-media paintings began to take shape within two weeks.
As each work evolved, the artists developed new techniques. Marlys found ways to reproduce the druzy pockets and gold deposits of the specimens in acrylic painting mediums. She positioned the stones and painted an environment for them, inspired by them. Michael became the engineer behind the project, developing a way to securely mount the stones of ever-increasing size, and preparing the final finish. Once completed, he even gets to use some of his favorite tools: the miter saw and the power drill.
The artists are now on a quest to find better and better collectable mineral specimens, searching the world, connecting with miners and importers, as well as discovering unique polished slices of petrified wood from as close as Arizona, and from as far as Madagascar. Selecting the stones and imagining the compositions for their future works is a joint endeavor enjoyed by both artists. https://www.canyoncontemporary.com/artist/redhawk-mallet