thru June 14th,
"Proverbs and Commonplaces"
Jim Hall, owner of the Oxford Gallery, has fun dreaming up themes for his invitational shows and they attract attention and admiration when you see what the artists come up with each spring. I was pleased to be asked to show a work, and so I made it over to the busy opening to see what the other artists had done.
First, when you walk in - pick up an exhibition list - so you can try and guess the meaning of what each artist portrays in this show titled " Proverbs and Commonplaces ". Each artist found a saying to translate via their own vision for an artwork that harkens back to a very old tradition - the literary arts are transformed into the visual arts, and the challenge is how to do this without being just a coy illustration.
"The Cart Before The Horse" by Carolyn Edlund
Right by the office look for Carolyn Edlund's painting. One of the most interesting works is the imaginative "The Cart Before The Horse" which is so modest yet beautifully realized and I was surprised that it hadn't been sold yet.
Walking into the gallery you are greeted by a work from Ray Easton where he has paired a sculpture of an angel in a park setting with some visiting crows and a dove ("Birds of a Feather"). Ray's painting in acrylic reminds me of a cover for the New Yorker magazine. Turn around to see a wild two part painting by Amy McLaren ("Parents for Sale -Insanity is Inherited") in her painterly figurative style.
There are so many approaches to painting ( and sculpting ) these proverbs and sayings that it is an education just to take a close look at the length and breadth of this show. There is a rugged collage by Edie Shedden("What Goes Around, Comes Around") right near to an elegant print honoring the four seasons by Kristine Bouyoucos.
"Learn To Walk Before You Run"
by Bill Keyser
Towards the back of the show a brilliant little sculpture by Bill Keyser ( "Learn To Walk Before You Run" ) just skips along in its fire engine red paint. I was surprised to see how similar his sculptural work was to part of my print which I call "Saving The Best For Last".
In the style of Janet Fish, was a big painting titled " Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket" by painter Kate Timm. Kate's style is a careful realism that strives to be objective, as does a horizontal painting of flowers surrounding a silver cup by David Dorsey titled " Carpe Diem, Autumn's Last Flowers".
On the back wall I also found Bill Santelli's abstract acrylic painting "I Dream My Painting and I Paint My Dream" - very provocative and his phrase really gets inside your head....
"I Dream My Painting and I Paint My Dream"
by Bill Santelli
