In 2001 Nancy Thayer traveled to Duszniki Zdroj, Poland for a week-long residency at the Museum Papiernictwa, a museum and paper mill dedicated to maintaining the process of making paper by hand. The mill, one of the oldest such mills, was established in 1490 and continues to produce paper. There, Thayer worked with the museum’s expert papermakers to produce the paper for this series. Upon returning to her Detroit studio she applied steel infused primer to protect the fibers and cold ferric patinas to activate oxidization. This body of work merges disparate elements: the apparent fragility of paper and the strength of steel, the rusted surface patina and the pictorial illusions associated with painting.
Each of these pieces are about the same size, employ a similar palette and are positioned in evenly spaced intervals creating symmetry and rhythm to the installation. Close inspection is required to discern their individuality. This sharp-edged piece presents copper-green patina brushed and dotted in a loose composition.
Yellow highlights with charcoals and browns provide depth and shadow. Each piece is fully pressed with this example allowing the naturally rough edge to remain.
These two pieces illustrate the range of texture and color of each page. They read like aged, worn sheets of metal but are delicate handmade paper. There’s a simplicity to these studies yet present enough interest to hold the viewer’s attention.
Nancy Thayer is a master of the moody, murky, abstracted landscape. These pieces aren’t those finished paintings, but a diary of an artist’s continuous exploration of materials, how they react with each other generating new ideas and processes for future formal work.
On view through February 18th at The Belle Isle Viewing Room 6925 E Jefferson Detroit
*images are mine
direct quote from gallery materials
SHOWS OPEN THIS WEEKEND