The Kiss. Susan Webb-Tregay, artist
The Art League of Henderson County presents Fabulous Fakes, an exhibit and sale of paintings by members of the Art League imitating the Old Masters such as Picasso, Van Gogh and Renoir. From Saturday, May 4, through Sunday, May 12, the art work will be placed among three galleries: Art Place Gallery, Art MoB Studios and Marketplace and The Gallery at Flat Rock. A “passport” will direct visitors to the location of artwork and, once punched at each gallery, the passport will go into a drawing for dinner for two at Postero Restaurant.
Mixed media and cold wax artist Charlotte Horton is modeling her contribution to the exhibit after Venus of Willendorf, a sculpture carved nearly 30,000 years ago. “She is one of the art pieces that anyone who has ever attended an art appreciation class recognizes,” says Horton.
Horton mixed up her own papier mâché to create I’m Your Venus, which stands on a scale with a broken tape measure at her feet. “Having struggled with societal, familial and medical opinion on my weight my whole life, I wanted to highlight that body positivity should be our focus,” says Horton. “Fabulous Fakes is important because every artist learns something new when they copy a master. The public is reintroduced to art they may have seen but never analyzed before. The twist that we all put into our work brings humor, thought and creativity to some amazing historic pieces.”
Liberty. Jean Greeson, artist
Al Junek is emulating a Renoir painting, The Children of Martial Caillebotte, for his contribution to Fabulous Fakes. “To make it uniquely mine,” he says, “I will instead use the faces of my twin granddaughters in this fake. While Renoir used oils for his painting I will use pastel, a medium I prefer for doing portraits.”
Junek has participated in past Fabulous Fakes exhibits, almost always choosing a Renoir painting as his work to copy. “I enjoy doing paintings for this show,” he says. “It gives me the opportunity to, in a manner of speaking, walk in the shoes of the master artist I am copying. It gives insight into the thoughts, brushwork and paints used by the artist to create a masterwork.”
Following May 12, all of the artwork will be consolidated at Art Place Gallery through Friday, May 31.
Art Place Gallery is located at 2021 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville. Art MoB Studios and Marketplace is located at 124 4th Avenue East, Hendersonville. The Gallery at Flat Rock is located at 2702-A Greenville Highway, Flat Rock. For more information visit ArtLeagueHVL.org.
