Yay! It’s Summer! Marion Vidal, artist
Comfort Foods and Memories, a solo exhibition of work by Marion Vidal, will be on view at Asheville Gallery of Art from Thursday, October 1, through Saturday, October 31. An opening reception and opportunity to meet Vidal will be held Friday, October 2, from 5–8 p.m.
Vidal was drawn to the subject of comfort food in part by the approaching holiday season and the traditions that accompany it.
“The holiday season is approaching and memories are made with friends and families,” Vidal says. “Gatherings usually involve fun and traditional fare. Food is often associated with social events, and plays a huge social role in the South. After a long day, you tend to turn to comfort food to help relax, and feel secure in the familiarity of that comfort.”
Break Time. Marion Vidal, artist
The still-life paintings turn everyday dishes and snacks into prompts for recollection. Vidal’s compositions incorporate serving dishes, kitchen utensils, ingredients and other objects that suggest both individual stories and shared experiences. Some items come from her family, while others are discoveries from flea markets and yard sales. Among them are an old waffle iron that has been in her husband’s family for years and a vintage maple syrup dispenser.
Other compositions extend beyond the kitchen to suggest recognizable moments in daily life.
“Some arrangements are descriptive of activities like a baseball game or snack time at work during a break, to give a narrative element to the art,” Vidal says.
The exhibition’s small-scale works are intended to fit naturally into domestic spaces such as kitchens and dining rooms.
“Painting is my way of capturing emotions,” Vidal says. “With this series, I wanted to capture the emotions associated with food like happiness, security, family bonding and memories that trigger those emotions.”
The Asheville Gallery of Art is located at 82 Patton Avenue, across from Pritchard Park. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. To learn more, call 828.251.5796, visit AshevilleGalleryofArt.com or follow the gallery’s Facebook page.
