Up Close

Alice Levinson

There is an old saying, “the devil is in the detail”. In the case of my artwork, detail is at the heart of the work. Viewed from the usual gallery distance one sees a total composition. Hopefully the work is visually interesting and pleasing to the eye. The overall effect is important in my work. The compositional schema hints to narrative as the palatte suggests mood. The true hallmark of my work, however, is in the attention to and elaboration of detail.

Approaching the work reveals a variety of materials I incorporate into complex layered elements. With closer scrutiny one can appreciate the multitude and variety of stitching which embellishes and elaborates the work .

In preparing the work for this featured exhibit, I began by sorting through my stash of hand-dyed cloth, looking for those with the most interesting tones and textures and arranged them sequentially. The resulting color story runs through the works, with colors featured in one piece, are visual echos in others. As you look through the gallery I hope you will follow the color ‘thread’. It is a delight to exhibit my work in the company of Lynn Wartski’s beautifully wrought doll sculptures and Linda Carmel’s sculptural paintings. The Featured Artist space this month is filled with color, joy, and life. I hope you will visit our work and come UP CLOSE.

Dreaming in Color

 

 

Alice Levinson, a textile artist, writes of her experience preparing for the show: “In October, 2015 I participated in the X Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy, an international exhibition of contemporary art. My body of clothworks was awarded the Lorenzo di Medici Bronze Medal in Textile Arts. These works will be among those I will be showing in the DREAMING in COLOR exhibit in Hillsborough. Starting with white cloth, I experiment freely with dye, pigments, and printing techniques to create cloth which is complex in texture and rich in visual interest. The fabric is cut or torn and pieces are mixed and melded as I assemble my work. Each composition is built of successive layering of fabric and thread. I aim to create works that engage the viewer and delight the eye with movement and vibrant color. Raw edges are honored and loose threads purposefully retained. My intuitive work process encourages spontaneity and experimentation. By nature, I am an observer of people and the natural world. Musings, scribbled phrases, and gestural sketches follow. These suggest themes, visual motifs, a palette. My intention in place, I reach for the cloth and then the magic begins. Image, line, and pattern find their way though my hands into the work in a remarkable way. My task is to stay open and responsive to the ‘voice’ of the cloth. ‘Listening ‘ with my hands as well as my eyes, I work to facilitate the creative flow. This isn’t easy, but is always satisfying, and often, surprising.”

Glass artist  Pringle Teetor describes her new work for the show, “Colors, bright and bold run through my work in many variations. The combinations of different metals in some of the glass colors produce spectacular reactions. Many years ago I studied painting and the artist Morris Lewis had a huge impact on my work. Now, I’ve taken this vision into my glasswork applying colors to create bold, irregular stripes on my vessels.  Another use of color in my work is in my incalmo bowl pieces. Incalmo is fusing together multiple glass pieces to make a single vessel. These have to be done very carefully and require a great amount of precision. I’ve combined 4-6 different colors in these vessels to make wide stripes in the bowls – some colors are analogous, others are contrasting to make a bold statement.”

Lolette Guthrie writes, “I am a landscape painter.  I work largely from memory so my paintings are reflections on what I experienced at a particular time in a particular place. They are also always paintings of light and atmosphere as I continually strive to capture the ephemeral nature of the light remembered. I begin each piece with a general idea of time and place and then let the painting tell me where and how far to go. As a result, I am never sure what the end result will be because at some point each piece takes on a life of its own and I just follow along. For Dreaming In Color, I concentrated on exploring the use of color, especially in the sky, that almost alone would give the viewer a sense of space, light, time of day, temperature, and weather.  In most pieces, the foreground is the accent note.”

Opening Reception

Friday August 26

6-9

 

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Colorful Language

 

Jewelry artist, Nell Chandler describes her thoughts about the show:

“When we first settled on the title Colorful Language for our show I felt an immediate connection. Even way back before I ever thought of making jewelry I had been telling stories through painting and printmaking. Now I paint and etch on my jewelry and I’m still telling little narratives.”

This year Nell is exploring the melding of techniques from her past. She is creating “story bracelets” with brand new messages by using visual images to tell the story. She is presently working on a Matriarch Bracelet that she sees as a contemplation of heritage and ancestors.

Nell adds, “My new work feels playful yet intense.”

Painter and assemblage artist, Michele Yellin, often begins her work “with a quote in the underpainting as way to start the painting.” Color is the language she uses with great boldness to say the things that cannot be expressed in words.

As she layers the canvas with color she finds that figures and shapes begin to emerge. Much like a writer developing a cast of characters, she lets these shapes and figures tell her who they are.

Michele moves from the sublime to the whimsical with deftness and a strong sense of her own artistic voice.

Fabric artist Ali Givens, who creates quilted textile collages, is exploring an entirely different pallet of colors following a year of work and study in a small town in the Italian piedmont. Her first work, Ivrea Windows, was inspired by the views from her apartment, but she soon realized that a view from one window could not express the essence of the town. She began taking photographs and marrying their elements to create more holistic representations.

Ali says, “As I was combining these photographs, I had something of an epiphany and realized that my photographs of home (Hillsborough) contained much of the richness and culture that I was finding in Ivrea. It is my hope that I can bring these observations to the Colorful Language show.”

 

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It’s all about the story

It’s All About The Story at The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts

In the three novellas that make up “Local Souls,” Allan Gurganus brings to life the complicated relationships of people who are as dark and colorful as the North Carolina town they inhabit. The artists of the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts depict these stories of survival, betrayal, love, longing, and liberation through visual imagery in paintings, photography, metal, fiber, glass, ceramics, and wood. It is a show for all those who appreciate Southern fiction and local art.

About the author:
Allan Gurganus is an American short story writer, essayist, and novelist best known for his ground breaking debut novel, “Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All,” which has sold over four million copies. Educated at Sarah Lawrence and The University of Iowa, he has taught at Sarah Lawrence, The Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and both Stanford and Duke Universities. Among his prizes are an Ingram Merrill Award and a 2006 Guggenheim fellowship. He lives in Hillsborough, NC.

Opening Reception

February 26

6-9

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Alice Levinson – REFLECTIONS Exhibit

 From the Composing Wall to the Gallery Wall

and steps along the way:

Alice Levinson

For me, each new work grows from a kernel of inspiration: a line read, a song heard, dawn’s shy brilliance, trees bent in the wind, a quiet moment woods walking. A theme is developed, visual elements are chosen and the tangible work of composing a piece begins.

Composing the piece, ANGELS CAN FLY BECAUSE THEY TAKE THEMSELVES LIGHTLY, was a particular delight. It began with a particualrly striking length of dyed cloth. A happy result from the dye studio, it was beautifully variagated with blues, yellows, and greens. It suggested to me an expanse of sky light by the sun and flitered through spring-green leaves.

I decided to use it uncut as a background and build a composition where negative space, the space between elements, would be a primary to the design. I chose a familiar calligraphic motif of ideographic units to build an image that expressed joy, freedom, and movement.

And so the work began, incrementally adding unit to unit, guided by color, scale, pattern, and shape, with much experiementation and reflection, then correction, the work slowly took shape. My work is built on a composing wall, each piece pinned with or to the next. I rely upon my Ipad for frequent photos to document the process and allow me to ‘audition’ elements and segments as the work progresses. In assembling the workI enjoy ‘weaving’ the elements together, layering them over and under in an alternating rhythm. Periodically, segments are stitched to one another, and to the background. Each layer of stitching affects the physical tone of the textile, influencing the shape, dimensions of the ultimate outcome. Further stitching, both hand and machine, is added for texture, embellishment, and to meld the disparate elements into an integrated whole, underscoring the movement and thematic intention of the work. ~ Alice Levinson

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The Art of Giving

Celebrate the holidays and the Arts with “The Art of Giving” at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts . The twenty-two artists of HGA present artwork celebrating the holidays with many gift ideas for easy, artful gift giving.

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is presenting its annual ‘ART OF GIVING” exhibit from November 11,2013 to Jan 13, 2014. This exhibit featuring the work of the twenty-two member artists will include paintings in acrylic and oils, pastels, photography, fused and blown glass and jewelry. Works in ceramic,wood, mosaic, metal sculpture, and textiles are also featured.

The Gallery will be featuring special holiday ornaments and specialty items geared for easy gift giving.These will include hand knitted shawls and scarves. Many of the artists will be exhibiting special holiday cards. The Hillsborough Gallery is a wonderful source for items for festive home decoration as well as unique, hand-made artistic gifts. HGA also offers gift certificates that make gift-giving easy and supports the local arts at the same time. A gift certificate is especially a great gift for young folks on your list to encourage their interest in artful living.

The Gallery will have some extended hours during the holiday season. Check the HGA website (www.HillsboroughGallery.com) for details. There is always an artist on-hand at the gallery to help you with gift giving ideas.

On Friday November 29, several artist members will be available to demonstrate and offer a short workshop in ornament making.

The Art of Giving
Opening Reception
Novemeber 29th
6-9
121 N. Churton St, Hillsborough

Show currently running through January 11th

Please visit our website and check out our calender.