Feature Articles
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February Issue 2007

Modernisme, The Gallery at Avondale in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Toby Penney

Modernisme, The Gallery at Avondale in Charleston, SC, will unveil new paintings, prints and sculpture by Chattanooga, TN, born artist Toby Penney in an exhibition titled Recent Developments, which opens Feb 3 and will continue through Feb. 24, 2007.

Penney currently resides in Tullahoma, TN, where she pursues painting full-time. In recent years, she has traveled to diverse regions of the United States following her passion and having a notable impact on the art community where she settles. Before moving to Tullahoma, Penney was the Artist-in-Residence for the Lowcountry Arts Alliance, as well as Artist-in-Residence for Church Studios, each located in Charleston, SC.

"Importance is around us, often met in the most seemingly mundane and discounted places. The paintings in the show Recent Developments are based on a remembrance or a concept the subject evokes, be it a person, place or object. Often specific details from the experience are enhanced or erased. There is a hierarchy to history either by time or want. I interpret memory and render a history," states Penney.

Throughout the process of the work, a multitude of oil, oil enamels and drawing tools are used. The work has multiple layers, as does the subject. When physically in the process of the work, Penney often rubs, sands, scrapes, etches, and razors the painted surface to expose the layers. In doing this, the actual record of the painting is revealed.

"My current work explores time, space and environment in an effort to convey my realization of the importance of the everyday," says Penney. "Inspiration can be as simple as light reflecting, found metal scraps, collected images from a photo safari or as vast as the Midwestern landscape. For the most part this work is more organic in nature while I attempt to maintain structure inherent of the man-made. The contrast between these two forms lends both rhythm and interest to the work as well as endless permutations."

Penney's work has been exhibited throughout the country and in shows locally and regionally. Her exhibition record is extensive. Selective exhibits include: Spectrum at The Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, Forty Years of Excellence at The Creative Arts Guild Gallery, Dalton, GA, and The Best of Tennessee Exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN. Other exhibitions include the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago, IL, and Awakening in Atlanta, GA. Her work is in numerous prestigious museums including: The Museum of Modern Art, NY; The High Museum, Atlanta, GA; The Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE; The South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, SC, among many others.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/763-1551 or e-mail to: (info@modernismegallery.com).

 

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