Closing Reception with Artist’s Talk – Paula Bullwinkel: Everything That Rises Must Converge

Please join us for the Closing Reception of Bullwinkel’s solo exhibition in the Small Space at Transmission Gallery from 3-5 pm, with Paula speaking about her work starting at 4 pm.

The title of the show may sound familiar. Our universal resource, Wikipedia, states that Everything That Rises Must Converge refers to (without endorsing) a work by the French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin titled the Omega Point. Chardin’s story, addresses racism in the framework of Chardin’s belief that human beings are in the process of evolving toward higher levels of consciousness, with cosmic implications.
“Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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A figurative painter, Bullwinkel present us with mysterious and allegorical protagonists operating in a baffling space with improbable scenarios. They in fact might well represent our personal experiences dealing with the events of the day. Are we thrown off kilter? How do we make sense of distortions and nonsensical narratives?

Often in Bullwinkel’s paintings, pattern and color obfuscate orientation to a specific location allowing the cast of characters to take center stage, as if in a play, one in which the outcome is unknown. Though we can make certain predictions about what might happen in the dream-sphere here, there is ample room to make unexpected interpretations.