ALG Resident Artist Christi Meril explores the realm of abstract expressionism, the many forms it can take and the poignant impact it can make. Currently on the ALG walls, set up for the upcoming Merriment Market, you can witness the range of mediums and tones she executes in her unique artistic voice.
The central inspiration for Christi is the interplay between the natural landscape and the urban world. The timelessness of nature and the evolution of urban. The peaceful beauty of nature and the loud pronouncements of urban. The patterns that blur the lines between the two and how we are drawn to both.
Here is a selection of Christi’s current collection on display at the ALG, demonstrating different viewpoints in the dialogue between the natural and the urban.
Circles of Time
Christi is known for her distinctive artwork created directly on wood, preserving its natural form. See “Extravaganza” below. She uses the patterning of the bark and internal rings, counting up the years like circles of time, as a blueprint for her creative expression. You could see it as a symbol of how urban life is built on the foundation of Mother Nature’s architecture, years, centuries and millennia in the making. They are intrinsically connected.
She continues the conversation, whatever point you hear it making, by transferring the aesthetically intriguing and thematically powerful motif of tree rings to other mediums. In “ROAM,” laser-cut wood for a more uniform shape. In “Sacred Oak,” canvas.
“Extravaganza”
“Roam”
“Sacred Oak”
In Balance
Circles of time aren’t the only pattern Mother Nature creates. The shapes and colors of nature interact in other ways. You can see Christi’s full range of natural inspiration including the Rocky Mountains, high deserts, Northern California’s coastlines, and ancient redwood forests in these next few pieces.
The tiers of pebbles or boulders (it depends on your perspective), the curves of the feathers, and the crisscross of tree branches aren’t just aesthetically pleasing but structurally sound. Each finds balance in its own way. In nature, balance is instinctive. Can the same be said of the urban world and our lives that intersect between them?
“High Desert View I & II”
“Flight”
“Resolute”
Rewilding
In the next two pieces, Christi has chosen an urbanized base – furniture, the processed version of her free-form wood canvases. She has combined it with other urban-centric elements to give it a sense of playfulness. To break it free from the constraints of sharp lines and perfectly angled corners. It’s like rewilding the wood, bringing it back to a place of not just functionality but pure enjoyment.
“Treasure Chest”
“Fountain of Knowledge”
What conversations have these artworks started about nature and urban life for you? Step into the dialogue by seeing these pieces in person alongside other artworks from Christi Meril, Resident Artist and Gallery Director Anna Curnes, and a host of Visiting Artists showing and selling their artwork at the ALG Merriment Market. With such a range of artists, this one-day event offers a range of mediums, styles, messages and price points so you can find the perfect piece for you or your loved ones.
The Merriment Market is taking place on Friday December 6 between 12pm and 8pm. Book your tickets here and bring along a donation to the ALG Toy Drive for DCAC to have your $5 entrance fee waived.
