BLANK SPACE is pleased to present a new group exhibition, Configurations, with works from five artists in collage and cut paper, together exemplifying the huge variety of possibilities within the medium. Jess Willa Wheaton blends archival images from various sources to build cohesive, painterly compositions; Meg Hitchcock creates process-based abstractions combining typewritten words and painting which speak to a larger spiritual concept; Martijn Hessling transforms newspaper into incredibly detailed explorations of space and landscape using just lacquer and newsprint; Andrea Wan uses cut paper to break up her lyrical and dreamlike compositions and add three dimensionality to her ink on paper drawings; and Lauren Matsumoto draws attention to the relationship between humans and nature, and the importance of balance with her mixed media collages. The exhibition will be live in our viewing room from March 18th until April 25th, 2021.

Meg Hitchcock has been creating works that respond to and reframe spiritual and religious texts since a period of spiritual transition she had some time ago. Her earliest series’ focus upon the ‘cross-pollination’ of religious texts, quite literally combining various texts in her works to draw attention to the common threads present in various spiritual and religious beliefs.

Hitchcock’s Typed Words series continues to investigate sacred text in a direct way while also diving into ancient systems of spiritual affirmation through chanting and mantra. After finding a vintage typewriter at an antique shop, Hitchcock began to isolate singular words within these texts and typing them many thousands of times on sheets of paper which have been painted on the reverse. After filling the sheet, she meticulously cuts out each individual piece and glues them in a larger composition.

These works not only perfectly translate the act of meditative chanting into a contemporary practice, but also create works that expertly decontextualize language and point out its subjectivity. In addition to the conceptual investigations, these works are also an experiment in process based abstraction, texture, and light and come together to create truly beautiful works.

Meg Hitchcock is a text-based artist living and working in New York's Hudson Valley. She received her BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and studied classical painting in Florence, Italy. Her work with words and sacred texts is a culmination of her lifelong interest in religion, literature, and psychology. Hitchcock's work has been shown in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, London, and Berlin, and reviewed in Art in America, ArtCritical, The New Criterion, Huffington Post, Hyperallergic, and The Daily Beast. Her work was included in "State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now" at Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas.

Jess Willa Wheaton’s one-of-a-kind paper collages are built entirely of original found printed images from a wide variety of sources, which she collects through her daily life. Each of her pieces combines between two and twenty three different images, merging them seamlessly through shape, color, space, and lighting. Using nothing but a simple knife and archival adhesive, Wheaton focuses on finding and opening up multiple potential combinations through imagination and juxtaposition, and patiently works towards fusions wherein multiple completely disparate images are able to fit together as if by magic.

By working with each piece for months or even years, Wheaton’s practice is centered around both the mental rigor and ingenuity required to see the various possibilities, and the unexpected ways in which new life can be breathed into discarded materials. She is also keenly aware of the analog nature of her work, and is deeply connected to the tactility of working with delicate materials. While most of our engagement with images has been reduced to quick glances on screens, her practice allows for a differently deep, sensitive, and disappearing experience with image culture in today’s landscape.

Jess Willa Wheaton was born in Sebastopol, California and lives and works in Queens, New York. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Hunter College in 2014, and her work has been included in exhibitions in New York, California, North Carolina, Canada, France, and Germany. She has participated in residencies in Canada and India, and lectured at Hofstra University and Camosun College. In 2018 Colpa Press published the monograph Medium Emotions, which features 60 of her collage works alongside an essay and poetic responses by Natasha Marie Llorens.

Martijn Hesseling's work is deeply rooted in the traditions of painting and drawing. However, it is only when one approaches the work that his unique and imaginative process becomes apparent. What look like photorealistic paintings from a distance are actually collages - almost reliefs - of newspaper on plexiglass.

By treating the paper with a special varnish the negative space of the printed page is rendered translucent leaving only the printed words and images behind. Through intricately cutting, layering, and placing this treated paper, Hesseling is able to create incredibly detailed images of his subjects ranging from dense domestic and urban scenes to wide landscapes.

Working in a similar style to painting, the works reconfigure the timeline of the traditional medium through the legibility of the newspaper and the news over the course of each piece's creation. In addition to concepts of time, record, and archive, Hesseling uses newspapers from his travels to capture moments from those localities further imprinting the physicality of the medium in the work.

Martijn Hesseling was born in Ede, Holland. From 1991 to 1997 he studied at the Academy of Art in Enschede and graduated at the Dutch Art Institute. He has held solo shows across Europe and has participated in art fairs across the globe. His work is featured in many public and corporate collections including: Deutsche Bank London, Phillips, and American Express.

Lauren Matsumoto’s collages draw attention to the direct relationship of humans with nature. Her process falls at the intersection of collage and painting, crossing over between the two as she develops large oil paintings using smaller torn paper and oil paint mixed media pieces as sketches. For her collages, Matsumoto collects various forms of discarded paper and begins to tear and a assemble balanced compositions; often times hand painting a vintage pattern and incorporating it into the collage. These strips are glued to painted paper and she will hand paint birds to interact with the tower of recycled paper.

Lauren Matsumoto is a painter exploring how we relate to nature. She is known for her use of a hybrid form of painting and collage as an innovative way of composing traditional paintings. Internationally, her work was presented in a solo show at Fabrik Gallery in Hong Kong, and in group shows at ArtLink Canada in Vancouver, the Art Complex Gallery in Tokyo and the United States Embassy in Oman. She has also exhibited her artwork across the United States in over 60 exhibitions. Her work has appeared in notable publications and blogs such as Domino, Aesthetica, The Jealous Curator, HOME Journal, Studio Visit, Booooooom and The Cut. Matsumoto has an international collector base, with works held in collections across Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and North America. She received an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and BA in Painting from Yale University. Her honors include a 2019 Artist Residency at MASS MoCA and participation in the 2011 US Art in Embassies Program. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Andrea Wan creates lyrical and surreal expressions of her consciousness through her delicate practice of assembling hand cut and colored figures in three-dimensional play. Wan works with acrylic in on paper, building up layers of saturation over pencil drawings which she then cuts and adheres to a backing board. In this series, Wan focuses on divine femininity weaving together abstracted figures with floral and natural elements to create minimalist compositions that stand out against their black background.

Andrea Wan is a Hong Kong-born, Vancouver-raised Visual Artist and Illustrator. She spent the last 8 years living in Berlin and travelling around the globe after she finished her studies in Vancouver and Denmark. Andrea sees her practice as a container in which she can allow whatever to come through in her stream of consciousness. Often the otherworldly images are reminiscent of her dreams, fears and thoughts buried within or shared among the collective. Her body of work includes, but not limited to ink on paper, murals, digital media and sculptures. Themes such as femininity, nature, and self-enquiry have continued to propel her creative exploration over the the last years.