Asheville Gallery of Art (AGA) will welcome the new year with the exhibit Bringing in the Light, running through Sunday, January 31. In the spirit of a new year, the show will highlight work from four new gallery members: Olga Dorenko, Rebecca Gottesman, Donny Luke and Susan Voorhees.
Cotton and Lace. Olga Dorenko, artist
Dorenko is new to AGA, but not new to the Asheville art scene: she has her own fine art gallery and a local studio space. She paints vivid, dream-like landscapes in which light is always an integral component.
A complex presentation of light carries through each artist’s work. “I often describe my process as ‘painting the light,’” says Luke, who discovered watercolors after a forty-year career as an architect. “I try to find ways to depict light so that it helps tell the story and highlight the subject.”
Gottesman, an oil painter, recently moved here after living in Vermont for 30 years. “Being painters, light is very important to all of us,” she says. “It always informs our work and we choose to find our inspiration through illumination. We are hopeful that the sea of change is upon us and we hope to be a part of that with bringing in new energy.”
Voorhees, who works in pastels, says that the darkness of the pandemic inspired her to create many light-filled works that will be featured in the show.
“During the pandemic shutdown, I wanted to paint brighter, more upbeat paintings to make myself feel better,” she says. “Since we may soon see the other side of this with a vaccine, I feel that our show theme is very appropriate.”
The show will be on display at the gallery at 82 Patton Avenue, Thursdays through Sundays from 12—5 p.m. or by private appointment. For more information visit AshevilleGallery-of-Art.com.
