ANN TRACY
TRANSMISSIONS
17 October – 21 December 2024
IMPULSE GALLERY
Haldenstrasse 19, 6006 Lucerne
www.impulsegallery.com
Ann Tracy, Fire Puja, 2023, Oil on panel, 183 x 274 cm. Photo by Pavel Streit
Harmony, form, balance, plasticity, beauty. These concepts, though seemingly distant, are united by a common glossary that spans both the world of visual arts and that of holistic practices. Art thus becomes a mirror, a tool through which to observe ourselves more closely, an opportunity to explore the human soul and open ourselves to change, to the evolution of our ‘Self.’
In her works, the American artist Ann Tracy adopts these axioms through a system of symbolic communication that also employs the tools of investigative dynamics — allegorical codes and research mechanisms — to go beyond the surface of the given reality. An approach that places the artist within the coordinates of an authentic and personal vision, one that not only does not elude but, in fact, encourages confrontation with renewed analytical perspectives, directly resulting from a process of observational learning. In this context, the suspension of judgment becomes the distinctive trait, capable of opening up to a deeper and more impartial understanding of the restless identity of our times.
Ann Tracy, Adrianne and The Twins, 2023, Oil on wood panel with gold leaf, 244 x 549 cm. Photo by Pavel Streit
The large-scale painting Adrianne and the Twins, a multi-panel work currently exhibited in the spacious and majestic halls of IMPULSE Gallery in Lucerne, dominates the scene with its imposing presence, evoking the imagery of Piero della Francesca, one of the primary sources of inspiration for the artist. His painting, characterized by harmony, geometric precision, and a carefully calibrated perspective, is here reinterpreted through a personal version of the famous Polittico della Misericordia (1445-1462), housed in the Museo Civico of Sansepolcro — a work of extraordinary mathematical precision in which every detail is measured with rigor.
In this painting, one of the most recurring elements in Ann Tracy’s artistic practice also emerges: a keen sensitivity to color that makes extensive use of gold and silver, present throughout her artistic production as elements imbued with meaning. These chromatics not only evoke memory and the suspension of different times but also serve as an alchemical device that transforms the work, imbuing it with an aura of change and transcendence.
In a historical context where society tends to devalue complex ideas, at the expense of a growing intellectual and spiritual impairment, the artist presents a reflection that invites awareness of the individual’s intrinsic ability to ‘enter within themselves,’ revealing an inner truth that dissolves layers and masks in favor of a shared feeling.
From this perspective, artistic practice and self-exploration intertwine with the search for self-awareness through meditation, yoga, and pranayama, creating a fusion of elements that is reflected in the artist’s works themselves. The mysticism that permeates Tracy’s entire creative process highlights her deep connection to her formative path, which was not limited to academic studies, crowned by prestigious degrees and professional roles, including that of university professor of Fine Arts for about 16 years. It was, in fact, strongly shaped by both a practical and theoretical path that led her towards new modes of perception, so much so that she became a renowned Yogi and teacher of Kundalini Yoga, Meditation, and Yoga Therapy.
In her professional practice, Ann Tracy has often addressed complex themes, embracing the egalitarian principle that all people are equal and entitled to the same rights and opportunities. A firm belief that, when applied to art, encourages a spiritual awakening aimed at discovering and nurturing what is essential for our inner balance, fostering the development of critical thinking in a world with a volatile temperament, yet sustained by the unwavering force of a vital energy that underlies all things, ultimately permeating the entire universe.
An art, therefore, in perpetual becoming, that does not yield to the vacuity of thought and is not afraid to explore the immaterial plane of human existence. In the very act of its becoming, it transforms the gaze of both its creator and the audience, who, through its presentation as a work of art, is invited to partake in it.
Tracy intertwines art and her private life in a narrative that unfolds along the circumference of a single continuous circle, emblematic of infinity in the eternal alternation of death and rebirth, as evoked in the work Fire Fly, created by the artist in 2023, where at the upper and lower extremes, a dual symbol of infinity (∞), also known as the lemniscate in algebraic geometry, flutters, representing the idea of “without limits” or “without end.”
Ann Tracy, Fire Fly, 2023, Oil on wood panel with gold leaf, 274 x 1883 cm. Photo by Pavel Streit
Through the combined use of various expressive mediums, ranging from painting to sculpture and mixed media installations, the artist transforms her intimate and personal vision into a restitution that makes the whole observable and comprehensible. Her spiritual identity permeates the construction of her role as an artist, where every life event, every flicker of energy, becomes an aesthetic fact. The ‘aesthetic dialectic’ seems to be the key concept that best summarizes the artist’s formal approach to the sublime mysteries of the human condition and that skirts the periphery of our deep feelings, revealing their profiles in all their bare essence.
The pieces that make up the extensive body of artwork on display emphasize the duality and contrast between various compositional elements. This narrative approach is constructed through symbols, signs, and references drawn from both the feminine imagination and the natural world in all its forms. It delves into the artist’s hidden nature, exploring her intimate relationship with the world and the myriad relational contexts she engages with.
The exhibition path gathers the various visual stimuli of the representation, organizing them along a poetic trajectory that manifests as a vision of gentle and steadfast denunciation, unfolding through an “aesthetic activism,” whose intent is to stimulate a broader reflection aimed at imagining a different relationship with the planet and with the complex issues of the contemporary world.
Through a free style, made of quick strokes and contextualizing brushstrokes, the artist invites us to embark on a spiritual journey. Her painting, swirling and dynamic, unfolds a narrative that develops across multiple semantic levels, rich in references that intertwine autobiographical dimensions (it is worth mentioning the inclusion in the exhibition of a painting made by the artist’s mother), echoes drawn from art history (from Neolithic cave painting and African sculpture, to Philip Guston and the aforementioned Piero della Francesca, through the Fauves and German Expressionists), as well as from the geography of her personal life (which has literally taken her to the most diverse places around the globe).
Vivid colors seem to hover, almost suspended, in the pictorial space, coming to life on large-scale canvases, often made up of multiple panels. Here, the artistic gesture becomes a need for boundlessness, an expansion that crosses the entire expressive breadth of the composition, enclosed by wooden frames crafted by the artist herself. With this choice, Ann Tracy reintroduces her sculptural skills, expertly developed during her academic journey at Boston University, where she earned both a BFA and an MFA in Sculpture.
Five on the Floor is a clear and complete demonstration of this concept. It is a site-specific installation with a predominant sculptural component, whose arrangement radiates, as suggested by the title, across the entire surface of the room that hosts it, as if it were destined for that specific place. Bathed in light that cuts through, in the daylight hours, the glass panels the gallery’s ceiling, it seems to invite its poetry to a restorative rest, in the shadow of the caress of a velvet as enveloping as a placenta. Here, the art releases itself into sleep, at the end of the toil of its work, and, in its slight fading into a gentle breath, that faint glow opens the path to the passage of darkness, leaving it to a setting with an almost dreamlike quality, thus entrusting it to a renewed call of consciousness.
Ann Tracy, Five on the floor, 2024, Wood, metal, gold leaf, textile, wheels, Variable dimensions. Photo by Pavel Streit
How is it possible to transfer knowledge between different systems and cultures? How is technology modifying communication processes, and how does the individual relate to the world?
Tracy does not merely linger on the threshold of the image; her purpose is to convey a message, exploring the aspects of lived experience to uncover the principles that govern them and give them meaning. It is based on this circular vision that the title of the exhibition, TRANSMISSIONS, takes shape. It restores meaning to words like “connection,” which have been nearly emptied of their original significance due to the growing and pervasive semantic reduction imposed by the communicative infrastructures of the network.
The title of the artist’s solo exhibition, rich in nuances, evokes cultural models of knowledge transmission, paradigms of communicative exchange between different cultures, and forms of understanding. It also suggests a vision of transmission as the equitable redistribution of vital energies among individuals. In a context where the imbalance of these energies hinders the desire for unity, Transmissions invites the possibility of reconciliation with a rediscovered meaning, offering the opportunity to finally experience — in her own words — “the unity we are in seeing ourselves as one.”
The entire exhibition path unfolds as a flow of migratory energies, leading to the synthesis of a whole, a space in which rediscover and reconnect with a lost unity. At times, this experience is transferred into seemingly confined spaces, where the inviting geometry of a vestibule becomes the ideal location for a multi-sensory, site-specific installation like They Never Died, Seven Roses. Here, the viewer is invited to pause, to surrender to a moment of rest and “slowing down” within a warm and enveloping atemporal capsule, whose almost uterine texture results from a refined collaborative effort. This project also takes the form of a publication titled They Never Died, involving multiple collaborators in the creative process, such as poet Amy Hosig and composer Marcello Toledo. His soundtrack for Two Piano accompanies the spoken word recording by Amy Hosig, a suite of seven poems that explore delicate yet powerful reflections on life, death, and rebirth.
Ann Tracy, Lion of Lucerne, 2024, Wood, metal, gold leaf, textile, wheels, Variable dimensions. Photo by Pavel Streit
In this scenario, artistic practice is defined by a synchronous relationship between the idea and its material representation, rejecting a predetermined chronological sequence and instead constructing itself as an open dialogue where idea and form are never separated but continuously influence one another. Art thus manifests itself as a permanent tension between what the artist wishes to express and the medium through which this expression takes shape, in search of a point of fusion: a balance between the concept and its vehicle, between the artist’s intention and the material that adapts to his vision without force, following its own intrinsic laws, until it reaches a point of convergence between what is intended to be communicated and what the material is capable of expressing.
Thus, while the artist explores their vision, striving to reduce the gap between thought and manifestation, they inevitably confront the uncertainties and ambiguities arising from the very process of translating abstraction into something tangible. This process concerns not only the resolution of a formal problem but also touches on an ontological dimension of art itself, where the artwork becomes a continuous reflection on existence and the way our perception of the world and our “being” intertwine and are revealed.
The artist, therefore, far from a reductionist view that depicts them as a solitary creator, asserts their identity as a conscious individual, living and acting in the world in deep connection with themselves, others, and the surrounding reality. Their practice thus becomes a privileged means to explore and understand this interconnection, where any notion of separation fades into a fluid continuum, and where every gesture, choice, or thought conveyed through their expressive mode also becomes a process of knowledge.
Marialuisa Pastò