Civitates Orbis Terrarum

<p>In Civitates Orbis Terrarum (Cities of the World) artist John Bailly examines
the relationship of place and time in his many multi-layered compositions.
Bailly’s works depict cities derived from ancient maps and atlases that have
either been decisive in shaping world history, conquered culturally or
militarily, or were literally destroyed. His imagery is also derived from
sources such as religion, history, wars and science. The over-arching idea of
man’s self-annihilation is persistently evident in Bailly’s oeuvre. His work
also captures the possibility of an even greater threat to humanity, a
catastrophic presence that challenges our perceptions of current events and
their impact on the future.<br>
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The monochromatic works, on both canvas and paper, comprising Civitates reflect
the artist’s intentional reduction of color in an effort to emphasize drawing as
the central feature of his compositions. With the absence of color, Bailly’s
skillful use of line, shading and improvisational mark-making is further
accentuated. Characteristic of the artist’s works are densely layered images
that convey a barrage of what seems to be unrelated visual information. Bailly’s
juxtaposition of imagery underscores his belief that perception is subjective.
This is perhaps the artist’s attempt to explain the constant state of
distraction prevalent in our fast-paced society. <br>
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In addition to many new large-scale works included in Civitates are also
selections from the artist’s Place of Mind series. These works are the result of
collaboration with critically acclaimed Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco. The
drawings and paintings composing Place of Mind include maps of various cities,
figurative elements, random images and hand-drawn text that are visual responses
to Blanco’s poems.</p>
<p>Recent Drawings by John Bailly.<br>
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April 25, 2008 — August 31, 2008</p>
<p>Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 10am to 4pm., Wednesday at
10am to 9pm. and Sunday at Noon to 4 pm.</p>