RL Figure 7, 2022

Vinyl collage on rubylith mylar

15 x 11 in.

Well-known for her intricate work in collage and printmaking, Gantner's larger practice showcases a unique relationship with materials, color, and form that can best be described as a hybrid approach. Her fluid movement between two and three dimensions contains both minimal and exuberant gestures, reverberating from the push and pull of competing influences: organic vs manufactured, analog vs digital, and reductive vs cumulative.

In the "RL" series, Gantner has utilized the material rubylith, a translucent red acetate conventionally used in screenprinting processes, along limited color forms to explore forms in relationship. She's particularly interested in the fundamental forces of the natural world that inform the dynamism and multiplicity of formal interaction. Gantner uses abstracted natural forms that simultaneously represent earth and sky (landscape) and head and heart (the body). These forms become proxies for the human experience, and the world that we navigate. Simply put, the forms are stones and bodies, geologic and permanent. Through her distinctive use of materials and gestures, Gantner's work speaks to the fraught relationships of contemporary life while offering a glimpse of beauty and possibility.

Courtesy of the Artist and Traywick Contemporary