“The Eye of an Is lamic Boy” , O i l on l inen, 9 -1/4 x 12 inches, 2011

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Front cover: “logarithmic Spiral of life”, Oil on linen, 16-3/4 x 21-3/4 inches, 2011

right: “Book Spiral”, Books, Floor to ceiling 8’, 2011-12

wOmaN madE gallEry

685 NOrTh mIlwaukEE avE., chIcagO, IllINOIS 60642, uSa

TEl: 312-738-0400 www.wOmaNmadE.Org

march 2 - aprIl 26, 2012

© claudIa klEEFEld 2012 www.klEEFEldarT.cOm

ISBN 978-1-4675-0664-9

mISSION STaTEmENT:

wOmaN madE gallEry SuppOrTS, culTIvaTES aNd prOmOTES ThE dIvErSE

cONTrIBuTIONS OF wOmEN IN ThE arTS ThrOugh ExhIBIT IONS aNd OThEr

prOgramS ThaT SErvE, EducaTE aNd ENrIch ThE cOmmuNITy. mOrE ThaN

7000 wOmEN havE ExhIBITEd ThEIr arT aT wmg SINcE 1992. wmg IS a

Tax-ExEmpT, NOT-FOr-prOFIT OrgaNIzaTION.

“Melting Butterflies (dreamwork)”, Oil and conte on paper, 22-1/2 x 30 inches, 2010

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Throughout the history of Modernism, crit ics have

struggled to define the essence of art and its connection

to this earth that gives us l i fe. at the f in de siècle,

renowned writer John ruskin argued that art must hold

itself to a certain “truth to nature.” for ruskin, J.M.W.

Turner’s romantical ly subl ime landscapes were a balm

for an urban population that was becoming more and

more separated from its ancient connection with

Nature. Through paintings l ike Turner’s—impassioned,

monumental, and awe-inspiring—individuals could reconcile

their deep-seated wonderment about the earth as a

Natural and potent environment with the pol lution and

f i lth they found in their new urban surroundings.

in the mid-twentieth century, the abstract expressionists

drew from nature to create non-objective works that

conveyed the existential angst of post-World War i i

generations. undeniably beautiful, the New york School’s

content al lows its viewers to have an experience that

is nearly rel igious precisely because the subject is no

longer mere representation, but, more profoundly, the

process of seeing as an act of insight and discovery.

Consider works by Mark rothko, with their horizon

l ines dividing f ields of sheer color into the land and the

sky. although he did not compose his canvases with

this exact meaning in mind, rothko somehow gets to

the core of our very human need to be transformed

from our mundane selves into beings, touched with

hol iness, as pure as the original inhabitants of eden—

to return from culture to nature. More directly, the

earth artists—in particular, robert Smithson’s Spiral

Jetty (1970)—used the land itself to create monumental

artworks about the ongoing change that is Nature as it

unfolds before us.

from Claudia Kleefeld’s objects found in nature to her

drawings and paintings to the books she reads for

inspiration—referenced in her book-spiral installation—her

art’s focus is multi-layered, a dawning comprehension

that comes through invest igat ing our common

experience as human beings. The artist’s work is

about process; she labors methodical ly , thoroughly

journal ing her ideas and breakthroughs, to understand

the hermetic laws of nature encoded within this

primordial, cosmological form that represents creation

and destruction. for her, the sacred geometry of the

spiral is the musculature underlying the creation-

forms of l i fe. The spiral functions l ike the double hel ix

of our very DNa—it is everywhere, reversing and

repeating itself in a divine inf inity of creation, trans-

formation, and re-creation. from fossi ls to fractals,

the spiral ’s symbolism is recognized by us from deep

within a shared, prehistoric consciousness.

for several years, Kleefeld has delved into the meaning

and form of the spiral , init ial ly led metaphysical ly

1 from the art ist ’s statement .

through a dream about melt ing butterf l ies. She had

long been incorporating text into her drawings and

paintings; the dream led to her vision of the next leg

on her never-ending path as an artist. States Kleefeld,

“By invoking the spiral… i aim to reconnect others and

myself to nature, causing a col lective remembering

of sacred and recurring forms.”1 Notations from her

journals are included in the exhibit ion catalogue,

making clear the extensive process of Kleefeld’s

research and f indings.

The exhibit ion includes “found Nature Objects,” l iteral ly

objects from nature that express the poignancy of the

notion of the interconnectedness of being. Baby pine

cones convey the dual ity of male and female through

the double spiral ; a papery-thin, del icate wasp’s nest;

seashel ls, rocks, and segments of trees—all these

heighten the sense of wonder that surrounds the

working of the spiral in our mundane world.

Kleefeld’s drawings, from the simple yet marvel -

ous ly e lus ive Unspoken Time , w i th i ts text and

cal l igraphic red spiral to Seahorse and its subtext of

the universal principle, “as above, so below,” exist

beyond their function as objects. rather, Patterns of

Nature serves as witness to the ubiquitous and tran-

scendent form of the spiral. The recently completed

paintings Sunf lower (double) Spiral and the Logarithmic

Spiral of l i fe burst with the joy that underl ies our

universal awareness of Nature as Source.

— Kathryn M Davis

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“unspoken time”, Conte on paper, 22-1/2 x 15 inches, 20101 From the art ist ’s statement .

sacred and recurr ing forms.” [1] Notat ions from

her journals are inc luded in the exh ib i t ion

cata logue, making c lear the extens ive process of

K leefe ld ’s research and f ind ings .

The exh ib i t ion inc ludes “Found Nature Objects , ”

l i tera l l y ob jects from nature that express the

po ignancy of the not ion of the interconnected-

ness of be ing . Baby p ine cones convey the dual -

i ty o f male and female through the double sp ira l ;

a papery - th in , de l icate wasp’s nest ; seashel ls ,

rocks , and segments of trees—al l these serve to

he ighten the sense of wonder that surrounds the

work ing of the sp ira l in our mundane wor ld .

K leefe ld ’s drawings, from the s imple yet marve l -

ous ly e lus ive Unspoken T ime, wi th i ts text and

ca l l igraphic red sp ira l to Seahorse and i ts

subtext of the un iversa l pr inc ip le , “As above, so

be low,” ex ist beyond the ir funct ion as ob jects .

Rather , a l l o f the art in Patterns of Nature serve

as witnesses to the ub iqu i tous and transcendent

form of the spiral. The recently completed paintings

Sunflower (double) Spiral and the Logarhithmic

Sp ira l o f l i fe burst with the joy that under l ies our

un iversa l awareness of Nature as Source.

— Kathryn M Dav is

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“unspoken time”, Conte on paper, 22-1/2 x 15 inches, 2010

“diary of dead bones 1. Word Spiral written in reverse”, Conte on paper, 22-1/2 x 30 inches, 2010

“Seahorse”, Conte on paper, 22-3/4 x 15-1/4 inches, 2010-11“diary of dead bones 1. Word Spiral written in reverse”, Conte on paper, 22-1/2 x 30 inches, 2010

“dead bones 9. Cyclone Storm”, Oil on linen, 10-1/2 x 13 inches, 2011

“islamic Boy’s eye”, Oil on linen, 16-3/4 x 21-3/4 inches, 2011

“roping Tornado”, Oil on linen, 10 x 16-1/4 inches, 2011

“diary of dead bones 6. Spider’s Web”, Conte on paper, 15-1/4 x 23 inches, 2010

“diary of bones 3.” Conte on paper, 15 x 22-3/4 inches, 2010

“diary of dead bones 7. fingertips”, Conte on paper, 22-3/4 x 15-1/4 inches, 2010

“diary of dead bones 5. andromeda Spiral galaxy”, Conte on paper, 15-1/4 x 23 inches, 2010

“Spiral Motion universe”, Oil on linen, 16-1/4 x 10 inches, 2011

“Meeting the Universe”, Oil on linen, 20-1/2 x 15-1/2, 2011“Spiral Motion Universe”, Oil on linen, 16-1/4 x 10 inches, 2011

“Meeting the universe”, Oil on linen, 20-1/2 x 15-1/2, 2011

“Blue ringed Octopus”, Oil on linen, 8-1/4 x 11 inches, 2011

“egyptian fruit Bat”, Oil on linen, 16-1/4 x 10 inches, 2011

“Sunflower (double) Spiral”, Oil on linen, 16-3/4 x 21-3/4 inches, 2011

Front cover: “logarithmic Spiral of life”, Oil on linen, 16-3/4 x 21-3/4 inches, 2011

right: “Book Spiral”, Books, Floor to ceiling 8’, 2011-12

wOmaN madE gallEry

685 NOrTh mIlwaukEE avE., chIcagO, IllINOIS 60642, uSa

TEl: 312-738-0400 www.wOmaNmadE.Org

march 2 - aprIl 26, 2012

© claudIa klEEFEld 2012 www.klEEFEldarT.cOm

ISBN 978-1-4675-0664-9

mISSION STaTEmENT:

wOmaN madE gallEry SuppOrTS, culTIvaTES aNd prOmOTES ThE dIvErSE

cONTrIBuTIONS OF wOmEN IN ThE arTS ThrOugh ExhIBIT IONS aNd OThEr

prOgramS ThaT SErvE, EducaTE aNd ENrIch ThE cOmmuNITy. mOrE ThaN

7000 wOmEN havE ExhIBITEd ThEIr arT aT wmg SINcE 1992. wmg IS a

Tax-ExEmpT, NOT-FOr-prOFIT OrgaNIzaTION.

“The Eye of an Is lamic Boy” , O i l on l inen, 9 -1/4 x 12 inches, 2011

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