Abstractions
September
1 - October 1, 2006
Opening Reception: Friday, September 1, 5 - 8 PM
Ric Campman |
Scott
Nelson |
Stuart
Copans |
Linda
Striedieck |
Nan
Heminway |
Lauren
Watrous |
Carolyn
Nelson |
|
One Mark Leads to the Next: Abstractions at Windham Art Gallery
The Windham Art Gallery is pleased to present Abstractions,
running from September 1-October 1 with an opening reception
on Friday, September 1, from 5-8 pm. In this exhibit gallery
artists explore formal techniques through the visual elements
of color, texture, weight and proportion. Participating artists
are: Carolyn Nelson, Scott Nelson, Nan Heminway, Stuart Copans,
Lauren Watrous and Linda Striedieck.
This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Ric Campman,
who inspired so many artists, and whose excellent work contributed
so much vitality to the gallery and to the entire Brattleboro
community.
Lauren Watrous' current work is inspired by religious iconography,
folk art, and a close study of nature. In folk art, and spiritual
art, Watrous believes, the internal is coaxed out onto the
canvas. The juncture between a detailed, personal realm and
the raw, enlivened shapes and forms intrinsic to nature are
made manifest in Watrous’ colorful abstract paintings.
Lauren Watrous, "Maidenhead," oil on canvas
For
Nan Heminway, "exploring the circle" is her main
interest. “Making art is my process of discovery,” she
explains. “It brings subjective and objective experiences
together into a personal aesthetic reality, and in whatever
language that best expresses my concerns.”
In Stuart Copan’s work, abstract has two distinctly different
meanings: “One begins as an external object and extracts
from it its essence; the second involves being withdrawn, or
separate from, the material world or any of its particular
embodiments.” This series of work explores not just the
interactions between symmetry and asymmetry, but also between
intent and accident. “It begins with accident.
. . but does not always succeed in keeping reality at
sufficient distance.”
Carolyn Nelson has developed her most recent body of
work over a year, and sees it as way to connect with
the “pulse
of inspiration” through non-representational means. “I
try to capture the essence of a place, or feeling, and
release that energy into the work. This quest is a spiritual
one. I do not always succeed. In working abstractly,
one mark leads to the next and so on. Associations are
difficult to avoid, our minds are mapped. When conditions
are right, art manifests.”
“My work,” Linda Striedieck says, “is an
ongoing exploration of the visual possibilities obtained
by combining shape, color and texture to produce large forms for
maximum impact.”
Scott Nelson’s drawings explore “the tension
between density and empty space, how the interplay of
tightly controlled color and the white of the paper contribute
to the structure of the completed piece.”
