Painter Irene Nelson and sculptor Gina Telcocci both deal in abstraction. New works by the two Oakland artists complement one another with striking form and color, and are featured in the exhibit “Passion and Restraint” at GearBox Gallery in September.

In the studio, Nelson approaches each work of art, no matter what medium, in a similar, intuitive manner. The moment guides her, transforming uncertainty into expressive mark making. Every gesture informs the next like an “act of discovery.” Nelson sees the process as “a dance between thinking and not thinking, balancing patience with spontaneity. It is an act of faith.” Each resulting composition unlocks imagery that may or may not have been lingering in her subconscious. It is the creative process that, to her, becomes the answer to the continual question “what if?”

Telcocci’s sculptures prioritize contour, scale, texture, and the physicality of the shapes and materials. In the large works shown here, forms & structures are built using traditional basketry techniques. They are then layered with collage, plaster, and other materials, and subjected to processes that mimic erosion & wear. Of the work that emerges, Telcocci says, “I want them to appear as some kind of hybrids of human- and nature-made, to suggest both the known and the unknown.”

These artists start with an irresistible impulse to make and mark. Passion drives the work; restraint is evident in the control that is the editing and refining of the finished pieces.