Danielle Rante – Elusive Terrains

July 11th – September 16th

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 15th, 3-5 p.m.

Danielle Rante- Solar Halo – Ink, carbon transfers on paper 38 x 60 in 2023

K. Imperial Fine Art is excited to announce Elusive Terrains, a new exhibition by artist Danielle Rante. The exhibition will be on display at the gallery from July 11th to September 16th 2023, The Galley and the artist welcome the public to the opening reception Saturday, July 15th, 3-5 pm.

Rante’s mystical illustrations are like scenes out of ancient mythologies. They bring to mind the impressive majesty of nature as well as the tales that have been told about it for centuries.

Rante is an Ohio-based artist who creates ethereal, otherworldly landscapes under muted nighttime hues of blue and purple. They commemorate the huge and immovable: sprawling mountain ranges shrouded by mist, great swaths of stars, ocean waves fading out to the horizon, light reflected by the moon–things unimaginably old and large. The sense of awe at nature’s enormity brings to mind the Romantic philosophy of the sublime, the vastness of the natural world. Her seemingly palpable textures bring the scenes to life. While part of her focus is on the natural flows and textures she builds up, she also draws attention to the raw materiality of her pieces. Brushstrokes, wrinkles in paper, and marks from carbon transfer are intentionally visible. At one glance the paper is creased and crumpled, and at another, it is an immersive night sky.

Elusive Terrains explores how human narratives and cultural ideas shape the environment as much as natural forces like wind and glaciers. Rante is inspired by folklore, whether it is that of the Adena people from her home state of Ohio or the myths and legends she encountered during residencies in Finland and Iceland. She creates her works on washi paper, a material that plays a role in the process of making traditional Japanese woodblock prints. Landscapes became a prominent subject of these prints beginning in the late Edo period, and Rante draws inspiration from their simple, contemplative depictions of nature. Each culture adds its own interpretation to a landscape, and those narratives seem to be whispering below the surface of each of Rante’s works. Human history and natural history both influence a landscape; nature makes no distinction.

Rante currently works in Dayton Ohio. Her works are featured nationally and internationally, including at The International Print Center New York and both the China Art Museum and University of Art Museum in Shanghai.

Elusive Terrains will be on view from July 11th – September 16th 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 15th, 3-5 p.m.

The Gallery is by appointment only, please contact:
kimperialfineart@me.com
(415) 277-7230
For inquiries and appointments.