April Issue 2002
Here's a Carolina Arts Update! 7/22/05
erl originals gallery in Winston-Salem, NC, is now closed. The following is no reflection on the artist(s) mentioned in this article. They still deserve the historical fact that this exhibition happened.
Here is an excerpt from an article in the Winston-Salem Journal's Dec. 10, 2004, edition: "In late September, (2004) erl's owners, Peter and Lee Swenson, and the company they operate, Bogart Management Group, were foreclosed on by their bank. They were barred from their gallery at 480 West End Blvd. for being months in arrears on rent and utilities. Peter Swenson is facing numerous tax-fraud charges, as well as a growing number of civil lawsuits filed by creditors seeking to collect payments they say are long overdue".
e.r.1 originals in Winston-Salem, NC, Features Works by 12 Nationally Recognized Artists
Twelve nationally recognized artists, whose talents range from oil painting and glass to sculpture and photography, will be part of a new show focusing on Wine, Women & Song at e.r.l. originals in Winston-Salem, NC, Apr. 5 through May 8, 2002. Featured painters will include Jim Chapman, Carolyn Goldsmith, Jonathan Hayes, Patsy Howell, Norma Murphy, Connie Winters, and David Zimmerman. Also on display will be photos by Michael Cunningham, sculptures by Mark Blaney, glass by Emilio Santini, and ceramics by Mary Ann Präck. In addition, watercolors by Gloria Coker, with musical overtones, will be featured in Gallery G.
An Arkansas resident, sculptor Mark Blaney was raised in Michigan and first learned painting outdoors in the countryside. He receives his inspiration for his sculptures from the simple everyday activity of people who have their own hidden grace and beauty, "which tells me plenty about life and art." Honored by the Arkansas Arts Council in 1996 as a Fellowship Recipient, his colorful sculptures can been found in galleries across the country.
Jim Chapman's art has a highly personal, even unique style that addresses the traditional subject matter of still life and landscape. His richly textured paintings are an inspired variation on Post-Impressionism color theory combined with a keen observation of the natural world. He has shown across the country, and his works can be found in numerous public and private collections, among them Wachovia Bank. Bank of America, and Nabisco. Chapman has been an exhibiting and award-winning artist since the l970s when he began studying in North Carolina's southern Appalachian Mountains.
Winston-Salem resident Michael Cunningham is best known for his recent book of photographs, Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, co-authored with Craig Marberry. All of the photographs are black and white, something that Cunningham made an early decision on. He says that he felt that color photographs might have made it look or feel like fashion work. More importantly, perhaps, he also felt that. "color would have placed too much emphasis on the hats themselves instead of the women wearing them." The photos for the upcoming e.r.l. show will be from a new body of work Cunningham is creating.
Carolyn Goldsmith, a Florida native who lives and works in Alabama, paints figures in oil on canvas in an unconfined, free style. She describes her paintings as "the vehicle through which I address our common struggle to make sense of our existence, our place in the world, and our relationship to God." She exhibits primarily in Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Georgia where her works are part of numerous corporate and private collections.
Jonathan Hayes is a North Carolina native and graduate of East Carolina University (BFA) and The George Washington University (MFA). He is known for his still life compositions featuring objects from everyday life in an old world style.
Patsy Howell is a professional artist from North Carolina who draws her inspiration for painting from extensive travel throughout Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and North America and from subjects that suit her loosely brushed impressionistic style favored by many collectors. Her greatest influence is Van Gogh; she calls upon his direct painting methods in her own work, bringing her feelings to the canvas with bold, courageous strokes. Howell's works hang in many private and corporate collections. She has shown in a number of juried shows and exhibitions and has the distinction of having leased several of her paintings to movie production companies for such films as The Jackal and the made-for-television movie Shattered.
Norma Murphy was born and raised in the tranquil Appalachian Mountains. The natural environment around her rural home is present in all paintings, which include rich textures, curvaceous, linear lines, and intriguing perspectives. Women are often the subjects of her paintings. Her style is a compilation of Abstract Expressionism, Romanticism, and Fauvism, but the end result is unique to her. The canvases are covered in decorative patterns and colors from her family's history. Murphy's body of work was recently accepted into the archives of the National Museum of Women Artists in Washington D.C. securing her status as a treasure of artistic talent and cultural heritage.
Mary-Ann Präck's background includes three generations of family art tradition, encompassing both fine art and architecture. From this foundation, she has developed sculpture that transforms the visual language of form, color, line and texture into what are spirited, serious and elegant large-scale clay abstractions. Präck's works have been featured in numerous exhibitions in the southeast over the past 15 years and can be found in many individual collections. In 1999, she was featured on the website (www.ceramics.about.com) and that same year, received a grant from the Regional Artist Project of Northwest North Carolina.
Born in Murano, Italy, Emilio Santini, who comes from a centuries-long line of glass blowers, has been working with glass since the age of 11. He has studied under some of the living legends of modern Venetian glassmaking, among them his father, Mario Santini, also a master glassblower; glass master Giacinto Cadamuro; and painter Renato Borsato. He also studied at the Universita di Venezia in Venice, Italy. In addition, Santini's teaching resume is extensive, including such premier glass educational facilities as Pilchuck, Penland, Urban Glass, and the CMoG Studio. Public collections of his work include The Mint Museum of Craft + Design, The Corning Museum of Glass, The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA, Sheffield Museum in Sheffield, England and Museo du Arte Contemporanea Ca Pesaro in Venice, Italy. Santini's work includes a wide range of handmade, unique torch worked glass ranging from detailed miniature bottles, intricate multi-piece groupings, perfume bottles, goblets, and figurative pieces. His glass pieces have been exhibited across both Europe and the United States.
Connie Winters is known across the Southeast for her vibrant impressionist-style oil paintings. Her works feature lush, lively colors and capture the vitality of sunlight. Inviting and intimate interiors, sunny landscapes with architectural accents, and bright riots of flowers in garden scenes are among her most favored subjects. Utilizing every available technical aspect to its optimum is her goal in each painting. Winters' paintings frequently reflect images from her annual visits to Europe, particularly the countryside of France and Italy. Her other great passion is gardening, and her arbors, paths and flowers supply inspiration as well. Winters' paintings are part of many prominent collections, including that of John Randolph Hearst, Jr. of New York. Her works are exhibited at galleries across the Southeast.
David Zimmerman has been creating award-winning paintings for more than 20 years. His work has appeared on NBC television, as well as other local programming in the metropolitan area. He is the recipient of many prizes and awards, and represented in many Corporate and private collections throughout the country. All of his paintings begin with a gray field. He explains. "I like the way objects appear and feel on the field. Isolated, stark, strong, serene, somewhere, no where. At one end of the spectrum, my work may be viewed as decorative; at the other end I believe that it can be quietly disturbing."
Gloria Coker
Gloria Coker, whose works will be on display in Gallery G, was an illustrator for the Daily Press in Chicago for 12 years before pursuing her career as a professional fine artist. Her loose and vivid watercolors and more recently, acrylics, capture her feelings about people of all ages as they engage in their passions from sports to music to play. Her art, which features musicians, dancers and sports figures, is on display in galleries from Maine to South Carolina as well as part of numerous personal and corporate collections.
For more information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 336/760-4373.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
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E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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