Spring View. Jean Gumpper, artist
Blue Spiral 1 presents four new exhibits beginning with an opening reception Friday, May 5, from 5–7 p.m. and running through June 28.
In the Main Gallery, Beyond the Horizon showcases the work of Bobbi Allen, Vicki Essig, Jean Gumpper, Ed Nash, Amy Putansu, Deborah Squier and Scott Upton, all presenting works that encourage rumination and provoke the question: What is beyond the horizon? Each exhibitor approaches their craft with an appreciation for the nuances of their chosen medium. These include pastel, woven silk, abstract painting, fiber and printmaking.
“In my work, all of the design elements are embedded in the material, such as color and line quality,” says Putansu. “Because the pieces are handwoven they are ‘built’ from the bottom up, thread by thread.”
Key to My Heart Teapot. Kate Anderson, artist
Alongside the works in this show is a Bonsai as Fine Art exhibition that runs from Friday, June 2, through Sunday, June 11, and includes works by professional bonsai artists and members of the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society. An opening reception takes place June 2, from 5–8 p.m. (story, p. 26)
Forest for the Trees: Brad Sells and Peggy Root is on display in the Showcase Gallery. In her plein air paintings, Root evokes specific feelings of a particular place and time by quickly moving around shapes and color. She strives to paint a solid construction that simply and elegantly captures the significance of a scene. “I want the viewer to love what I have loved, to feel what I have felt about certain places at certain times,” says Root.
Sells, our Feature Artist this month, primarily carves his wood sculptures with a chainsaw, then refines the undulating surface to reveal the final visage of the piece. His new sculptures are made from fallen 3,000-year-old sequoia trees in response to his collaboration with the non-profit organization GreenWood Global.
In the Small Format Gallery, Harvey Meyer: Wood You Believe features Georgia-based artist Meyer’s turned wood vessels resembling woven basketry. Meyer embellishes their surfaces by piercing, burning, coloring, carving and texturing; resulting in a semblance of cleverly executed vessels. “I was inspired by the work of two prominent woodturners who were best known for the basket illusion pieces they produced,” says Meyer. “Both are deceased and left no instructions, so I engineered my own processes for creating these pieces.”
Acoma 5 Pattern. Harvey Meyer, artist
Teapot Invitational, in the Lower Level Gallery, showcases a variety of teapot styles and techniques from traditional to experimental. Practical aspects of the design, like the spout, handle and lid, are thoughtfully considered as well as concepts that nod to historical and cultural teapot associations.
Sam Chung’s porcelain and stoneware teapots were inspired by Korean Buncheong ceramics. Eric Serritella’s work is a continuation of his ceramic trompe l’oeil sculptures. “This body of work honors the Yixing teapot and its role in ceramic art history as Yixing, China is considered by many the birthplace of the teapot,” says Serritella.
The exhibit also includes work by Kate Anderson, Wesley Brown, Jim Christiansen, Jim Connell, Sean Donlon, Judith Duff, Ashley Kim, Candice Methe, Eric Pardue, Kari Russell-Pool and Mathew Wheeler.
Learn more at BlueSpiral1.com.
