De Buck Gallery is pleased to announce an upcoming exhibition of works by three local artists: Michael Dickey, Teo Gonzalez and Mahmoud Hamadani. The exhibition marks the debut of all three artists at the gallery, and will be on view from May 16 through June 29, 2013. An opening reception will be held at the gallery on May 16 from 6-8 PM, which the artists are scheduled to attend. This exhibition explores the intersection of the inspiration of nature, chaos/chance and abstraction in the work of Dickey, Gonzalez and Hamadani. All three artists utilize an idea of nature as their starting point, despite the use of different media and the great degree of abstraction throughout the works in the exhibition.

Michael Dickey’s paintings are truly tactile experiences in color and form. By building up dozens of alternating layers of paint, resin and other materials such as wood, the works possess a unique depth suggestive of far horizons beyond geometric planes that seem to project out of the surface of the painting. There exists a definite ordering of elements in each work, and yet the compositions suggest chance placements reminiscent of natural outgrowths. Though not strictly landscapes, Dickey’s work does bespeak a natural element as the forms and horizons are certainly suggestive of natural elements, skies, and in some cases, cityscapes.

Teo Gonzalez’s works are variations on grids of cells that encompass endless possibilities of creative expression. His process of repeating small ovals an endless number of times in each piece creates a soothing visual rhythm that serves to interrupt otherwise monochromatic surfaces. The regularity of the grids within which Gonzalez consistently works are, however, at odds with the chance procedure of applying droplets of paint, which then spread and dry with no further input from the artist’s hand before being individually encircled with dark rings. In the process, these dabs of paint, in their repetitiveness and yet beautiful individuality come to represent Gonzalez’ cosmic inspiration, the night sky.

Mahmoud Hamadani’s work is similarly suggestive of the chance proceedings of nature. The works in this exhibition, hauntingly simple black ink drawings, are drawn from two of the artist’s series: “Endless Roads” and “Traces.” The former is, in the artist’s words, “a visual narration of a perpetual search.” The lines meander across vast expanses, suggestive of an exploration of one’s environment, and waver in unexpected ways. The “Traces” drawing, which appears to be a delicate renderings of trees, is derived from a poem by Gu Cheng, in which he discusses “the ink {that} blew dew from the leaves.” With this idea in mind, Hamadani creates abstractions that, though they strongly resemble nature, are essentially celebrations of the process of creating art.

Michael Dickey was born in 1979 in Colorado, and holds a BFA from Colorado State University. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the United States. Teo Gonzalez was born in Zarazoga, Spain in 1964, and holds an art degree from California State University. His work has been exhibited worldwide and is in collections including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.). Mahmoud Hamadani was born in Iran in 1958 and attended the State University of New York and Harvard University for Mathematics and Public Administration. His work has been exhibited worldwide, and is in the collection of the British Museum. Dickey, Gonzalez, and Hamadani currently live and work in New York City.