Review of "Consciously Dreaming" at Bunny Gunner in THE magazine

Denise Kraemer and Leslie Brown
Bunny Gunner
266 W. Second Street, Pomona
(909) 868-2808 www.bunnygunner.com

Denise Kraemer and Leslie Brown may both be printmakers, but they could not be more different. Both work primarily with the figure, but each employs radically different concepts in non-traditional use of printmaking materials. Kraemer makes delicate, silhouetted portraits on multiple pieces of crudely constructed handmade paper, resulting in very sculptural print-objects. Her abstract monotypes are intimate, fragile, and light in their size and palette choice and enhanced by the incorporation of stitching and thread. Kraemer's monotypes are strong in concept and in image, even though muddiness in the colored inks mars a few of the more straightforward pieces.

Leslie Brown's mixed-media prints are less about the figure as form, as in Kraemer's work, and more about the figure as a locus for emotion. Brown's etching work demonstrates notable technical prowess in its skillful, very traditional rendition of the figure. She clearly understands the dynamics of the human form. Brown also knows how to move the ink around. She uses paper and clay to absorb the inks in rich saturations. Brown's figures are dark and serious, but the density of imagery and her use of more abstract symbols make the work feel downright cathartic.

Kraemer and Brown's accomplishments demonstrate a commitment to the use of new materials in the printmaking process. In pairing these two deft and inventive printmakers, this exhibition in the heart of the PomonaArtsColony spoke to the continuing evolution of "traditional" print media. 
by Andi Campognone

Denise Kraemer, Nazzle, mono-etch chine colle on handmade paper, 53" x 29", 2007