artsy forager

Category: Artsy Spots

  • Springing Forth

    Springing Forth

    WINTER TRANSITIONS;  SPRING STORMS is R. Roberts Gallery’s celebration of the transition from the grey, dreary days of winter into the fresh bloom of spring.  The show features the work of three very different artists, mixed media artist Madeline Peck-Wagner, sculptor James Oleson and encaustic painter Kathleen Wobie.

    As you enter the gallery, you may almost miss James Oleson’s tiny bust sculpture.  This diminutive piece, made of repurposed metal, will definitely make you stop and take the time to really check it out.  I couldn’t believe I walked right by it when I first came in!  Beyond the bust is one of Oleson’s horse sculptures.  With its stilt-like legs and flowing tail, this equine could be right out of a Tim Burton movie.  Oleson also has some much larger scale sculptures that are interesting in their own right.

    Speaking of equines, Madeline Peck-Wagner’s mixed media works were defnitely, for me, the star of this show.  She takes subject matter that could be trite and cringe-worthy ( think cheesy Southwestern art ), but treats it in a unique, contemporary and elegant way.

    These are delicate line drawings possessing an intense presence and power, much like the impressive animals depicted.  The cross-hatching & precision of the lines are reminiscent of architectural drafting, giving the figures depicted a strutctural, landscaped quality.  Conversely, blots and washes of brightly colored paints call to the spiritual significance such animals, both living and decayed possess.

    Just as the delicate, bare branches of winter transition into the full, heady blooms of spring, so we move from Madeline Peck-Wagner’s graceful lines into Kathleen Wobie’s encaustics, thick with wax, paint & color.   Kathleen’s pieces, in the context of this show, seem to depict spring at its height– full of pastel tones and sunshiney warmth.

     

    For me personally, I found the larger, abstract piece below to be Wobie’s most successful of this show.  This piece, rather than being the literal translation of winter to spring that the piece above is, instead represents more the feeling of spring– of rebirth, renewal and the joy of being alive.

    As we in North Florida transition into spring ( though some days lately, it feels as if summer is already upon us! ), take the time to drop by R. Roberts to see how these artists make the switch and enjoy this last show in the gallery’s current space.  R. Roberts is doing some transitioning of their own, can’t wait to see the bountiful blooming that is sure to be in store!

    R. Roberts Gallery is located at 3606 St. Johns Ave in historic Avondale, in Jacksonville.

    Winter Transitions; Spring Storms will be on display through April 23rd, the gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm.

  • Masterworks Monday: Vermeer

    Masterworks Monday: Vermeer

    I love modern & contemporary art.   Artists who find a new way of translating our reality fascinate me.  But the Art History geek in me also loves to look back at what was groundbreaking eons ago.  We have so much to learn from those who came before us, so each Monday will be dedicated to a work by one of the “Masters”.

    First up, one of my favorite artists whose work I’ve seen in person when visiting the Frick Collection in New York.

    Officer and Laughing Girl  by Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter 1632-1675.

    Most of us are familiar with what may be Vermeer’s best known work, Girl With a Pearl Earring, but for me, he is at his best in his “slice of life” compositions such as Officer and Laughing Girl.  In this captured moment, Vermeer gives us a glimpse into a private, shared conversation.  Is this a young girl being courted by a gallant officer?  What is their relationship?  Vermeer leaves us in wonder.

    Vermeer’s paintings are usually much cooler in tone than those of his contemporaries and this one is no exception.  The light coming in through the leaded glass windows is clear, but feels frostly, especially in contrast to the warm tones of the officer and girl’s clothing and the looks being exchanged.

    For more information on Vermeer, here are a few sources:

    The Essential Vermeer

    The Frick Collection, which houses several Vermeers, including the one above

  • Seeing Much, Much More

    Seeing Much, Much More

    SHAWN MEHARG: SEEING LITTLE MORE is the latest exhibition of work at the Williams-Cornelius Gallery located inside Daryl Bunn Studios in Riverside.  If, like me, all you’ve ever seen are Shawn’s more representational works, you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was to discover this new series of abstracts.

    I am a huge sucker for lots of texture, so this show had me at hello.   These abstracts are LOUSY with texture ( and I mean that in the best possible sense! ), color and depth.   Layer upon layer of paint, charcoal, etc., give way to artwork in which the viewer can get lost.  There are a few pieces that are lighter in tone, but for the most part the color is heavily saturated, but somehow still remaining translucent, giving the feeling of looking through wet stained glass.

    Lots of edgy endings in color and straight lines add to the stained-glass effect.  There also seems to be a reflectory vibe happening, especially in the darker pieces– they could be reflections of city lights in pools of water on asphalt streets.

    The visual depth is especially evident in the pieces in which the canvas seems to be opening up into a world beyond– as in “City Mouth” below.

    I don’t want to give too much away.  If you’re in Jacksonville, go see this show for yourself and find out what “more” you can see.

    Williams-Cornelius Gallery is located inside Daryl Bunn Studios, 643 Edison Ave in Jacksonville.

    The gallery is open Monday- Friday, 9am-5pm.

  • First ( Art ) Love

    First ( Art ) Love

    We all remember our first love, the intensity, the drama, it stays with us forever.   How a certain song or place will always remind you of those precious feelings.  But what about your first ART love?   That one painting or sculpture or photograph that drew you in and made you long for more?

    My hubby George & I took advantage of the Free Family Day at the Cummer Museum of Art in Jacksonville on Saturday and walking through its beautiful rooms & gardens reminded me  that the Cummer is where my real appreciation for art first blossomed.

     

    Image of the Cummer Gardens via Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens

    The stately, elegant rooms and gardens seemed alive with history and mystery.  To me, there is something so lovely and enchanting about old stone, brick and iron in a garden.   The Cummer Garden paths lead me down a lane of memories that aren’t my own.. memories of others who have walked these gardens before, of Ninah Cummer lovingly attending her flowers, of characters in novels who walked similar garden paths, of lovers declaring themselves forever.

    Inside the Cummer, the beauty of the architecture draws me in but it is the artwork that keeps me coming back again and again.   As a young girl, my first memory of visiting the Cummer is the enchantment I discovered there, focused upon one particular piece of artwork, “Before Her Appearance” by Frederick Carl Frieseke.

    Image via Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens

    I’m sure it is no surprise that this Impressionistic painting would be the early favorite of a young girl who loved the romance of dancing and all things girly.   I wanted to BE her, to be the talented beauty preparing to take center stage.  When I look back at this piece as an adult, I still love the feminine glory of it all.  The pink toe-shoes, ruffled dressing gown, floral vanity skirt and draperies.. In an age where showing this kind of feminitity seems sometimes verboten,  it is lovely to think back to a time when it was truly celebrated.  ( Not that I would want to go back to other aspects of being a woman in that age! )

    Each time I revisit the Cummer, I am drawn back in time to my younger days, of sitting and gazing upon this lovely piece, waiting for her to stand up from her stool and begin pirouetting around the room.   As with any first love, there are others who have come behind, touched me in different ways, but that first passion will stay with me always.

    Do you remember your first ( ART ) love?  Please share in the comments, I adore a good ( ART ) love story!