August Issue 2000
The Wells Gallery in Charleston, SC, Features Rare Exhibit of Nudes
Since the earliest age, man has been fascinated by the mystery and beauty of the human form. For centuries, artists and viewers alike have studied and contemplated the nude with curiosity and appreciation.
In an unprecedented event in Charleston, SC, the Wells Gallery has gathered the work of ten Lowcountry artists in a show for a present-day audience entitled form and figure: a contemporary exhibition of the classic nude on view from Aug. 11-25.
As many may recognize from first entrance to the show, form and figure is unique to the Wells Gallery. This is the first themed show to be presented here highlighting the artwork of ten different artists. On display will be works by Charles DeAntonio, Gary Gowans, Peggy Howe, Randall McKissick, Lynne Riding, Sally Hughes Smith, Shannon Smith, Rhett Thurman, Karen Larson Turner, and Susan Mayfield West. The show will also feature a variety of media: oil, watercolor, ink and pastel.
Gary Gowans says about his work, "I make an effort never to copy myself...not painting the same subject or in the same way over and over." For him, each subject is different. Even painting the same model on a different day, every work he creates is unlike the last. Gowans' words ring true for the entire show, even though there is a single theme. Each artist in each work brings his or her own approach to the classical theme of the human figure.
Other artists represented in the show focus on not just the isolated human form as a subject, but show a figure in a private setting. Shannon Smith, who has painted a series of bathers for this show explains, "The human form has always fascinated me--and what fascinates me more is the conversations between the figure and its environment."
From sculpturesque to rounded, from bold colors to sensuous neutrals, the styles and expressions represented here in form and figure affirm the notion of the innumerable approaches to presenting the human form.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 843/853-3233 or visit our website at (www.wellsgallery.com).
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