Color is a Life Force – Anne Labovitz

First Tuesday ArtWalk:
*September 5 & October 3, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Exhibition Dates:
* September 1 – October 29

Robert Green Fine Arts presents Color is a Life Force by Anne Labovitz

Informed Optimism Series
For Labovitz, color and light is a language, transforming the space in which it is viewed. “As an artist,” she says, “I alter the atmosphere in a site, creating a deep transformation of space which then can change the way the visitor feels.”

In a world that can be filled with darkness, there is something undeniably captivating about the allure of light. But what does it mean for something to be luminous? Luminosity, at its core, is the quality of radiating or reflecting light. Light is both a physical phenomena and a metaphorical symbol that holds deep meaning in various contexts.

“For me, light is a medium, a reflection of time and place, and a metaphor for life. The notion of luminosity more than a time of day, it is an idea like a state of mind; of calmness, emergent energy, and feeling. For me, color is a life force.”

Word Works Series
They embody movement, gesture, and mark-making as a contemplated, intuitive process.

These works are responses to Labovitz’s research into art and health and her interviews with health professionals. The artist asked the interviewees a specific set of questions and encouraged them to provide details of their unique experiences and practices in relation to art and health. Labovitz employed her own approach called “Relational Listening,” a meditative act of connection facilitated by the artist.

After listening again to the recordings, words become layered and abstracted through painting and drawing. This is a way of transforming spoken content into a visual language. The artist explains, “Through Relational Listening I serve as a conduit, transfiguring human connection into physical forms. I have created interpretive chronicles of multiple conversations.”

Artist’s Biography 

Labovitz received a BA in Art and Psychology, with a minor in Art Education and Art History, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN (1989), and an MFA from Transart, Plymouth University, in New York City and Berlin (2017). She has an extensive national and international exhibition history. Upcoming and current projects include solo exhibitions at the Athenaeum in La Jolla, CA (2023) and the Minnesota State Capitol (2024); 122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport; and the I Love You Institute.

Labovitz’s work is held in many private and public collections, including the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport; the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona, MN; the Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN; the Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN; the Athenaeum Music  and Arts Library, La Jolla, CA; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; St. Paul, MN; the International Portrait Gallery, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Växjö Kommun, Sweden; Isumi City Offices, Japan; the University of Raparin, Rania Iraqi Kurdistan; and the City of Petrozavodsk, Russia.

Labovitz is currently Adjunct Professor and Mentor in the Master of Fine Arts program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.