Arts Galleries

Asheville Gallery of Art Presents New Works by Cheryl Keefer

Conversation

Since taking her first painting class at the age of 13, Cheryl Keefer says she has known without a doubt that she was born to paint. “Most days I long to paint just about anything, anywhere.” Cheryl Keefer New Works: Something to Celebrate is this month’s show at Asheville Gallery of Art (AGA), including a reception for the artist to meet the public on Friday, July 7, from 5–8 p.m.

Keefer, whose signature impressionist style interprets moody landscapes as well as urban scenes, was our cover artist for The Laurel last November. If you wander into her River Arts District workspace in NorthLight Studios, you’ll see she creates mostly plein air oil and watercolor landscapes influenced by the likes of Sargent, Matisse, O’Keeffe and Picasso, her muses while studying for degrees in Art History and Art Education at the University of Alabama and Graduate Painting at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“I am excited about this collection of paintings,” says Keefer, “because even though the subject matter is primarily landscapes and street scenes, the work is even more about my moods and feelings—the emotions I experience as I see beauty and ‘cause for celebration’ in the ordinary everyday landscape.”

Raised in a pine thicket in rural Alabama, Keefer says she finds wonder and joy in the rhythmic cycles of life on earth, celebrating all seasons in all kinds of weather and times of day. Her work, as well as the paintings of the other 30 AGA gallery members will be on display and for sale through the month.

“Painting, for me, is a way of expressing my awe, joy and gratitude for being on earth with creation, celebrating through sun and rain, the miracle of life, here and now,” Keefer says. “I want viewers to feel as if they are there in the scene, and to experience their own emotional epiphany.”

Asheville Gallery of Art is located at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville, across from Pritchard Park. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1–4 p.m. on Sunday. To learn more call 828.251.5796, visit ashevillegallery-of-art.com or follow the gallery’s Facebook page.

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