A River 2
2005
oil and mixed media on wood
38"x58"x6"
 "Arc" 60"x 17"
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 "Atlas 4" 68"x 18"
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 "Atlas 5" 69"x 18" panels
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 "Cross" 64"x 17"
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 "Night Kayak" 78"x 16"
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 "Two Step Falls" 38"x 60" x6"
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 "Thaw" 40" x 60" x 6"
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 "Canyon" 52" x 7" x 8"
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JUNE 2005 CHICAGO
Cameron Zebrun at Gwenda Jay/AddingtonCameron Zebrun transforms his experience of the North Woods and Yellowstone into wall-hung painted wooden constructions whose form, details, and colors recall sky, cascading water, eroding soil and rock, and dense pine forests. He employs the kayak shape in a variety of ways to suggest the human presence in nature, the artifacts that people leave behind them, and his own solitary journey as an artist. Like a kayaker viewing the shore, Zebrun sees the forms of nature rather than the details. The visual language of cartography enters into this work. The artist has collaged bits of maps onto some constructions and has cut the plus sign, a symbol of the compass, into others. He has incised contour lines into the wooden surface to represent topography and has drawn latitude and longitude in pencil. According to him, cartography is a series of concepts and conventions that we use to make sense of the landscape, represent it, and navigate through it. Zebrun showed seven wall pieces and a pedestal piece at the Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery in March and April. Roughly rectangular, his wall constructions measure about three feet by four. Irregularly curved top and bottom and bowed out toward the viewer, they often have two or three free layers of wood on one side cut to look ragged. To do this, Zebrun builds a square wooden frame, affixes 1/8-in.-thick bendable birch plywood to it, and distresses this material so its constituent veneers separate at the edge. He trims and cuts the veneers into wave-like curves that suggest eroding terraces of rock with water flowing over them. He may incise shallow cavities into the surface like holes that water wears in rock. The artist applies oil paint like a stain, creating a smooth surface with subdued colors that flow into each other like clouds or water. Much of his work is ambiguous as to scale. A white and reddish whorl at the center of A River 2 (2004) could be fire, an eddy, a cloud, or even a hurricane viewed from outer space. Curvy veneers on the right side suggest eroded rock and some of the colors imply water. Roughly one-fourth of the way up A River 2, a long, slim wooden triangle could be a river cutting its way through the landscape to drain at right. Since completing art school, Zebrun has worked as a museum preparator, building numerous mounts, models, and dioramas. He has drawn on these skills and his experience of nature to create a body of art that is fresh, personal, and highly expressive. Victor M. Cassidy CAPTIONS: Cameron Zebrun, A River 2 (2004) 38-in. x 58-in. x 6-in. oil, wood. CAMERON ZEBRUN
Exhibition: Recontextualizing Nature Even within a period of two decades the renown of a contemporary artist can ebb and flow. Some artists continue to make art and have exhibitions frequently, while others nearly vanish, never to be heard from again. When Cameron Zebrun was an "emerging" Chicago artist in the eighties, his constructed paintings were exhibited every year; his work was included in all of the local and regional venues for Chicago artists; he had a gallery presentation of new work every two years; and among his collectors were those watching for the up-and-coming in the arts. Cameron took a job at the Field Museum designing exhibit spaces so he could ensure himself continuous financial support, finding a support of another, more artistic, kind, as the friends he made among his co-workers were budding Chicago artists as well. In 1990, with the birth of a daughter and the desire for professional advancement, Cameron moved to Minneapolis for a job at the Walker Art Center, where he became the head of visual arts and exhibitions for the Program Services Department. Time spent on his daytime job grew; his skills, his knowledge of visual art, and his breadwinning abilities quickly put him in high demand. But unlike many artists who find their lives more and more oriented towards a steady profession, Cameron never lost his interest--or his ability--in creating artwork. Indeed, over the years he he has honed his skills, improving his pallete, and his paintings are once again commanding recognition for being more evolved. His current exhibit of new constructed paintings is a tribute to his furthered evolution. Cameron Zebrun has always been interested in constructing his paintings out of wood before he paints them, beginning in reference to constructed form. Perhaps it is from architecture, like the form of an old barn, or perhaps it refers to a manmade shape such as a kayak. Cameron has little use for the flat surface: his paintings are always as curved as the earth. Indeed, the antecedent of his surfaces spawns his imagery. He paints the elements earth, air, water, and fire. Always appearing in one form or another, they challenge the viewer to puzzle through his paintings and find meaning therein. Space is supreme for Cameron. Once he has constructed an original shape, he creates the space within which to place an image. His use of the third dimension is unique. The larger, shaped panel paintings are literally pictures from outer space, looking at the stars and the earth as if the viewer were floating somewhere between the planets and the cosmos. Looking toward the earth, one sees the stark contrast of the light as it slowly reveals the outlines of land masses, glacial formations, or the Aurora Borealis spread across the northern sky. The new works are more sophisticated, and his forms are more varied. A master of the CAD system on the computer, Cameron is able to work out his images before he begins constructing them, allowing him to make them more complex and more beautiful. His kayak-shaped paintings have both dimension and detail. We are drawn into internal spaces. New views. A changed perspective. A different way of seeing, yet reminiscent of the old.
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