{"id":46407,"date":"2019-07-27T09:11:41","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T15:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=46407"},"modified":"2019-08-14T13:05:52","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T19:05:52","slug":"from-desert-to-ocean-crossings-cody-chamberlains-and-len-starbecks-intersections-in-nature-at-the-park-city-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/from-desert-to-ocean-crossings-cody-chamberlains-and-len-starbecks-intersections-in-nature-at-the-park-city-library\/","title":{"rendered":"From Desert to Ocean Crossings: Cody Chamberlain\u2019s and Len Starbeck\u2019s Intersections in Nature at the Park City Library"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Cody Chamberlain, “Twist Of Juniper,” Ink, pastel, and water color on coffee & tea paper. 15″ x 22″<\/p><\/div>\n

From the high deserts of Utah to the shores and redwood forests of the Pacific, the exhibit Intersections in Nature <\/em>describes and investigates landscapes that have impacted artists and local residents Cody Chamberlain and Len Starbeck. Both artists use their histories of mixed outdoor employment to inform their selection of materials, the subjects they depict, and the way they progress from concept to finished piece. Together, the paintings and sculptures provide a balanced show that provides art and wilderness lovers a space to appreciate two different interpretations of outdoor sights and textures.<\/h4>\n

Both Starbeck and Chamberlain have developed unique practices and style, which they use to reflect on their experiences of nature. With signature winding lines in black ink, Chamberlain dances between faithful recording of the alien shapes of the Utah desert and artistic stylization. He hikes and takes photographs of twisted trees and cracked mud, using these images as references, but pushes their wildness further. As a US Forest Service employee and former archaeology student, he\u2019s had his fair share of time observing the desert. He developed as an artist while studying for his bachelor of fine arts degree in painting at Utah Valley University and learned stratigraphic drawing during archaeology field school. He both adds and reduces detail to create his signature style.<\/h4>\n

In \u201cTwist of Juniper,\u201d the sharp black lines of the tree and surrounding rocks are set off by a loose background of dark splashes and drips. Chamberlain adds linear detail to the form of the tree, while reducing the complexity of the background through the use of repeating patterns (the parallel lines on the side of the cliffs). In \u201cPi\u00f1on,\u201d he similarly keeps the ground from becoming too complex with a regular blue-and-white rock pattern that approaches the regularity of print. The blue paint, however, is splattered, so the viewer\u2019s experience of regularity is still interrupted. These different \u201cpush and pull\u201d effects create balance and keep the pieces from getting either too busy or too bland.<\/h4>\n

In contrast to many of Chamberlain\u2019s pieces last year<\/a>, which he created using oil on linen, the bulk of Intersections in Nature<\/em> is on tea paper and made with ink, paint, and gold leaf. \u201cI start with beautiful paper that\u2019s almost art by itself,\u201d he says. He then takes this paper and experiments by splashing on tea, coffee, or chemicals, creating a background layer of chaos that he may leave alone or crosshatch into clouds, mountains, or rock formations.<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>

“Yucca Mountain” by Cody Chamberlain<\/p><\/div>\n

His deftness with a pen and the occasional break from neatness make his cracked pi\u00f1ons and junipers reminiscent of Ralph Steadman in a mild mood. The multicolored sky background of \u201cYucca Mountain\u201d is a good example of his ability to abandon control in one section of a piece, with the regular marks of the sun-baked desert floor providing a neat contrast. He successfully combines illustration and \u201chigher-brow\u201d splatter techniques in most of the 22 works on display.<\/h4>\n

Chamberlain also displays a single large oil painting, \u201cRockwell Ranch Juniper,\u201d in which he strips away his materials and technique to a more traditional landscape approach, but maintains the high-contrast, twisting line quality that\u2019s his signature.<\/h4>\n

In contrast to Chamberlain\u2019s desert hiking, many of the experiences that inform Starbeck\u2019s artistic practice are from his time in the ocean. Starbeck began deep-sea diving when serving as an independent duty corpsman in the Navy and found the abalone shells featured in his work during routine beachcombing near Fort Bragg, California. He combines materials and uses techniques he has picked up over a life of hard work and different ventures into creative outlet. \u201cI\u2019m a self-taught artist and I have experimented with different materials and objects,\u201d he says. \u201cI started woodworking in the \u201880s, when I was making clocks.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Mixed media piece by Len Starbeck with abalone inlay.<\/p><\/div>\n

Many of Starbeck\u2019s pieces incorporate recycled wood (some of it found and upcycled, some bought from local landowners who have old wooden structures on their property). His redwood mounted work is paired down in subject, with only one animal or small group of animals in inlaid abalone per piece. They\u2019re also ultra shiny: Starbeck\u2019s cross-sections of redwood are covered in a high-gloss finish. The gleaming surfaces mirror the shine of the polished abalone and the watery domain where they once rested.<\/h4>\n

Standing in front of \u201cWhale,\u201d light plays on the rippling surface like the sun on a body of water. The piece is made from a near-black slice of wood, darker than others in the gallery. Looking at the work, you catch sight of your own reflection before your eye finds the solitary abalone sperm whale drifting near the bottom. The oscillating colors of the shells read like patterns of light filtered through moving water above.<\/h4>\n

Another piece with an aquatic subject, \u201cSalmon Run\u201d shows three fish made of tessellating shells and plays with the idea of the old fishing trophy. But instead of a stuffed and mounted fish, these representations swim through their wooden background, showing a slice of the animals\u2019 lives rather than evidence of a fisherman\u2019s kill.<\/h4>\n

But like Chamberlain\u2019s pieces, these sculptures contain reference to the harsh realities of nature, even the ecological destruction that\u2019s been accelerating in the past decade. Starbeck says that he collected over 2,000 pounds of abalone shells as a result of the mass dying of these mollusks near Fort Bragg. In 2017, an explosion of purple sea urchins caused by a \u201cperfect storm of environmental stressors\u201d resulted in too much competition for the abalones\u2019 main food source, which led to the shells washing up en mass.<\/h4>\n

Starbeck\u2019s exploration of the life-and-death cycle is also found in Chamberlain\u2019s understanding of nature, in which he says: \u201cI see the cycle of life and death starkly exposed.\u201d Although one artist gained inspiration from the desert and the other from the ocean, both investigate where they and their art are immersed in natural processes, creating work that reflects their pasts and interactions with vastly different landscapes.<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Intersections in Nature<\/em>, work by Cody Chamberlain<\/a> and Len Starbeck<\/a>, Park City Library<\/a>, Park City, through Aug. 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the high deserts of Utah to the shores and redwood forests of the Pacific, the exhibit Intersections in Nature describes and investigates landscapes that have impacted artists and local residents Cody Chamberlain and Len Starbeck. Both artists use their histories of mixed outdoor employment to inform their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1523,"featured_media":46408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[3131,3506],"class_list":["post-46407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts","tag-cody-chamberlain","tag-len-starbeck"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/yuccamountain.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 12:54:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1523"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46407"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47067,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46407\/revisions\/47067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}